The elected president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, was forced to delay his investiture ceremony due to the refusal of the outgoing president, Iván Duque, to allow the transfer of the Bolívar sword from the Casa de Nariño to the Plaza de Bolívar.
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Previously, Petro had requested the outgoing government through those in charge of the transmission of command, to allow the transfer of the emblematic weapon to the place where the act of transfer of powers would take place, a request that, initially, had no objection. .
In fact, particular conditions were created such as the manufacture of a special urn to transport it; To which was added the preparation of a group of soldiers from the Presidential Guard Battalion to mobilize it, who would wear the ‘Papagayo’ uniform to commemorate the one used by the honor guard of the liberator Simón Bolívar.
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The first order of @petrogustavo as president was that they will carry the sword of #Bolívar to the square.
He wanted it to be there because it is the sword of the people, the liberator said that it should only be sheathed when there was social justice. pic.twitter.com/87IrUXaTaS
— Madelein Garcia (@madeleintlSUR)
August 8, 2022
In addition to the fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lent a splendid table built in precious woods that is part of the historic furniture of the San Carlos Palace, to place the Bolivar sword in a place of honor during the ceremony, right next to the presidential podium.
However, last Friday, August 5, Duque began to use arguments as obstacles, beginning with the question of whether the sword as a historical relic would be safe and not exposed during the ceremony.
To which they added that it was in custody and on loan to the Administrative Department of the Presidency, DAPRE, and in its condition of historical heritage it would be in charge of the Ministry of Culture; entity that should have insurance against all risks to respond for the integrity of the relic.
To these obstacles, resolved quickly on Friday itself by the state insurer La Previsora; and with a level of security in the investiture ceremony corresponding to its magnitude and with undercover agents, snipers, special forces squads, in addition to the Presidential Guard Battalion and detachments of the Navy, Air Force, Police and Army; another was added.
The outgoing president, Duque, decided that the bolívar sword would not be removed from the House of Nariño because he was simply the acting president until 3:00 p.m. local time.
Before which Petro avoided that “as president of Colombia I ask the Military House to bring the sword of Bolívar. It is an order of the popular mandate and of this president”; in his capacity as sworn president and, consequently, supreme commander of the Armed Forces.
Petro pointed out that the sword has a very high meaning for him and the Colombian people, and paraphrasing the Liberator he asked that it never be locked up again and only be sheathed when there is true social justice in the country; and that is why he wanted to share it with Colombians.
Questionable position of King Felipe VI of Spain
Meanwhile, during the investiture ceremony and when the members of the Military House and custodians of Simón Bolívar’s sword passed in front of King Felipe VI of Spain, he remained seated and did not get up to pay homage to the relic, which was considered as a disrespectful gesture during the protocol ceremony.
King Felipe VI is the only one who remains seated before the sword of Bolívar, who represents the independence and sovereignty of so many Latin American peoples who are no longer vassals. What a lack of respect.
Then why do the ultra-rightists of VOX like this king so much? pic.twitter.com/4pat2YOC3a
– Pablo Echenique (@PabloEchenique)
August 8, 2022
This gesture by the Spanish monarch has been the subject of disparate criticism on social networks, as he was the only one of the foreign leaders present who remained seated before the passage of the weapon used against the Spanish troops during the independence struggle in the Bolivarian countries, and seen in today as a symbol of anticolonial and Latin American unity.
This disrespectful stance made some researchers and political scientists recall the friction that his father, Juan Carlos I of Spain, had with Latin American leaders such as the Venezuelan Hugo Chávez.