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Colombia’s first leftist president declared “the war on drugs has failed” when he was sworn in on Sunday.
Gustavo Petro, a former member of Colombia’s M-19 guerrillas, has pledged to fight inequality and lead a country long plagued by bloody animosity between the government, drug dealers and insurgents. Come to peace.
Mr Petro won the presidency in June, beating conservatives that made modest changes to a market-friendly economy but failing to build on voters frustrated by rising poverty and violence by human rights leaders and environmental groups in rural areas connect.
On Sunday, he said Colombia was getting a “second chance” to tackle violence and poverty, and promised his government would implement economic policies aimed at ending chronic inequality and ensuring “solidarity” with the country’s most vulnerable.
The incoming president has said he is willing to start peace talks with armed groups across the country, calling on the U.S. and other developed countries to change drug policies that focus on banning substances such as cocaine and fueling violence in Colombia and other Latin American countries. . American countries.
“It is time for a new international pact that recognizes that the war on drugs has been lost,” he said.
“Of course peace is possible. But it depends on current drug policies being replaced by strong measures in developed societies to discourage consumption.”
Mr Petro is part of a growing group of leftist politicians and political outsiders who since the pandemic began have been winning elections in Latin America and and hurting incumbents who struggled with its economic aftershocks.
The former rebel’s victory was also an exception for Colombia, where voters have historically been reluctant to support left-wing politicians, often accused of being soft on crime or allied with guerrillas.
The 2016 peace deal between the Colombian government and the FARC boosted the popularity of left-wing parties in national elections by shifting voters’ attention from violent clashes in rural areas to issues such as poverty and corruption.
However, smaller rebel groups such as the National Liberation Army and the Gulf Tribes continue to compete for drug smuggling routes, illegal gold mines and other resources abandoned by FARC.
Mr Petro, 62, described U.S.-led anti-drug policy as a failure, but also said he wanted to work “equally” with Washington on plans to tackle climate change or bring infrastructure to the countryside where many farmers say coca. Regional leaves are the only viable crop.
He also forged an alliance with environmentalists during his presidential campaign and pledged to turn Colombia into a “global powerhouse for life” by slowing deforestation and reducing the country’s reliance on fossil fuels.
He has said Colombia will stop issuing new oil exploration licenses and will ban fracking projects despite the oil industry accounting for nearly 50% of the country’s legal exports. He plans to fund social spending through an £8.3bn-a-year tax reform that would increase taxes on the wealthy and scrap corporate tax breaks.
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