Gustavo Petro won't attend De la Espriella's inauguration
Gustavo Petro confirmed he will not attend Abelardo De la Espriella's Aug. 7 inauguration or shake his hand, calling the election result a fraud. Speaking in a televised cabinet meeting, the outgoing Colombian president said he does not recognize the president-elect yet will still leave office on schedule.
Key Takeaways
- Gustavo Petro says he will skip the Aug. 7 handover and refuse a handshake.
- He again alleges electoral fraud and says he does not recognize De la Espriella.
- Petro still plans to leave office on the constitutional date.
- De la Espriella wants to take the oath at a southern military base.
- Petro barred military venues for the ceremony while he remains commander-in-chief.
Colombia's outgoing president, Gustavo Petro, made the refusal explicit during a televised Council of Ministers, according to EL PAÍS. Traditional images of a departing leader greeting a successor after the congressional oath will almost certainly be absent on Aug. 7.
"I cannot accept a president, and that is why I will not be anywhere on Aug. 7, nor shake his hand," Petro said, adding that De la Espriella "knows why, because that is a fraud." He insisted the only duty he must fulfill is the mandate voters gave him.
Why is Gustavo Petro skipping the inauguration?
Petro argues the runoff victory was illegitimate. He has repeatedly said there was fraud and that he does not recognize "that president," while stressing he is not calling for violence.
"Are we going to be violent? No. Thirty-seven years ago we decreed peace," he said, referring to the M-19 guerrilla demobilization. He added that Colombians would decide "when they are hit," but not immediately and "without haste."
Coverage of one of his final cabinet sessions also noted he appeared ill with flu-like symptoms and spoke for about 90 minutes while many ministers stayed silent—an exhausting close tracked by readers of longevity and biohacking.
Where does Abelardo De la Espriella plan to take office?
President-elect Abelardo De la Espriella, described by AFP via France 24 as far-right, has said he will take office in August at a military garrison in southern Colombia as an homage to security forces.
Petro ordered that no military facility be used for the ceremony, arguing that barracks remain under his command until the new president swears in. Colombian law places the oath before Congress, normally in Bogota. De la Espriella has asked the new Congress, which installs on July 20, to authorize a military-base ceremony and promised an austere event.
What happens if the outgoing president stays away?
Petro's absence breaks a long-standing republican custom but does not, on its own, block the constitutional transfer. He has said he will leave the executive on the scheduled date even while rejecting recognition of his successor.
The protocol clash now centers on venue, congressional approval, and optics: a missing handshake, disputed legitimacy claims, and a possible southern military inauguration. How Congress and the Armed Forces navigate those tensions will define Aug. 7 more than any single speech.