Words of love to Gustavo Petro

Hello, 

It isn't common for me to "admire" human beings because I'm quite aware that we are made of many qualities and many defects. However who is now our president gives me hope and wonder.

From his childhood he was always fascinated by literature and in his adolescence he was seduced by the idea of ​​changing the world with ideas of peace and reconciliation. He was a militant in an urban guerrilla group, the M-19 (which initially arose due to irregularities in the elections of April 19, 1970), they stole Bolívar's sword, they stole weapons from the North canton (a military garrison) and some unfortunate events that will remain in the political memory of Colombia. Gustavo never attempted the life of another person, he did not participate in the kidnapping of another Colombian and he was not a participant in the takeover of the Palace of Justice.

When the M-19 was torn between peace and war, Gustavo always voted for the first option. He was imprisoned and tortured, at my age he was an Economist, father of a family, he only had two shirts and two pants, and even in the face of his economic difficulties he always knew that helping the poor would be the meaning of his life. He never felt the need to own a car, he helped build a neighborhood (bricks laid by his own hands) and studied climate change. He was mayor of the capital of Colombia and helped to: build schools, people with drug addiction problems, that poor people could have a home and wanted to deal with the environmental crisis that most afflicted Bogotanos, garbage management and transportation, however, the majority of the powerful families and businessmen in the capital prevented him from fulfilling his final purposes as mayor. 

He was exiled and had depression, because he missed his life in the country that he cared for and that he always swore to defend. When he was a senator, he denounced parapolitics (and accused Álvaro Uribe, allegedly guilty of several massacres and disappearances in the country), the Nule's carousel of hiring and the false-positives. His debates became famous and he became a champion of change in the country. He gave his vote in favor of peace, even when millions of Colombians decided that peace was not an option for this country so bloodied and sad. Last year the unimaginable Gustavo Petro came to the presidency after so many years trying to show Colombians that their intentions are good, protected by democracy and the constitution.

I still remember Colombia that suffered and cried because of the bombs that were placed in shopping malls, police stations and state buildings, I even have very clear memories of the bomb that was placed next to my school, it was dangerous to travel between cities and they crossed out from a socialist to someone who thought that people should have the same educational and economic possibilities. The country I knew woke up at 6am to leave messages on the radio for their kidnapped relatives, hoping they were okay and could return home. I went through a stage in my life in which I hated politics and did not believe in this country, I thought that nothing good could ever come of it, because the slightest hope of change was violently destroyed. However, Gustavo Petro was always there, making uncomfortable statements, going against it, showing that it was possible but that it would require effort, making it clear many times that he cared more about the justice of the country than his own life, that there was a person who wasn't afraid of facing drug politics, who believed in the conservation of the environment, who believed in women, young people and in the power of forgiveness and love. If you look closely at Petro's career, you can see that he was not alone on his way to the presidency and that many Colombians had also bet on peace, unfortunately many of them were assassinated or disappeared.

I love Gustavo Petro, but not from a blinding radicalism, nor ignoring the defects he has, I love him as the person who has allowed me to reach a conciliatory point between the sadness that this country has made me feel due to the laws that have not protected the most vulnerable and the moments of happiness that I have had with the people with whom I have grown up. When people asked me why I was voting for Gustavo Petro, I told them that I was voting on behalf of my grandfather and grandmother who deserved a better healthcare system, I was voting on behalf of Jaime Garzón who believed in the transforming power of youth, I was voting in the name of Dilan Cruz and his frustrated dream of changing the world, and I was voting in the name of all those killed in the case of the false positives. I voted for Gustavo Petro because he believed in Colombia more than I did and his standard was always peace and social justice. I intuitively knew that the politics of love could bring us harmony and prosperity.

If you want to support me in any way, here's my new PayPal: cavc0424@gmail.com

A hug from this tropical paradise called Colombia.