Colombia’s Outgoing President Petro Calls for Nationwide Protests on July 20 Ahead of Public Farewell

According to Lianhe Zaobao, Colombia’s outgoing President Gustavo Petro said he plans to hold a public handover ceremony on Independence Day in late July and urged citizens to stage mass demonstrations to keep pushing social reforms. Petro wrote on X on Sunday, July 5, calling on Colombians to protest on July 20 “in every public square” and then listen to his farewell speech, saying he would meet supporters in Bogota’s Bosa district and Ciudad Bolivar. The report said Colombia held a presidential election in June, in which far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella—backed by US President Donald Trump—was elected and is set to take office in August, while left-wing parties remain the largest bloc in the new Congress. De la Espriella has described himself as an enemy of the left and vowed to sue Petro and his allies in US courts, and he opposes Petro’s efforts to reach peace agreements with armed guerrilla groups and has said he would revoke what he called Petro’s “privileges” for drug traffickers and terrorists.