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Colombian President Gustavo Petro gestures after casting his vote during the elections for governors, regional lawmakers and mayors, in Bogota, Colombia October 29, 2023
Has Petro petered out?
President Gustavo Petro saw his allies lose elections across Colombia’s largest cities this weekend in what is widely viewed as a rebuke to the government and its reform agenda.
Petro, Colombia’s first left-wing leader, promised transformational change, but he has struggled to deliver. His frustration is tangible: When centrist Cabinet ministers opposed a controversial health care reform in April, the impasse broke apart his coalition, and Petro fired a third of his Cabinet, appointing ideological allies instead. He attempted to govern by emergency decree in La Guajira department, only to be stymied by the constitutional court, while his congressional priorities have slowed to a crawl. To make matters worse, his administration has been embroiled in separate corruption and wiretapping scandals.
Voters haven’t had it any easier. Colombia’s economy grew by 7.3% in 2022 but is expected to grow by just 1.7% in 2023, straining families in one of the world’s most unequal economies.
The weekend’s contests saw no widespread violence or irregularities, but voters are clearly displeased. The candidate Petro endorsed for mayor of the capital, Bogotá, often considered the country’s second most prominent political office, came in third, and Medellín and Cali elected some of Petro’s fiercest critics.
Petro himself can’t run for office again in 2026, and Eurasia Group’s Colombia expert Maria-Luisa Puig says the results portend ill for his chances of positioning a candidate to carry on his political legacy — but he’s not quite a lame duck.
“Despite the defeat at the local level,” she notes, “Petro can still secure enough votes in congress to advance aspects of his reform agenda,” which may allow for watered-down versions of his pension and health care programs to pass.
Television media broadcast commentaries as delegates arrive to the United Nations 76th General Assembly amid protests on September 21, 2021 in New York City, USA.
What’s on deck at the UN for Tuesday, September 19?
Our intrepid Senior Writer Gabrielle Debinski is on the ground with our colleagues from GZERO World for the latest updates. Also, if you missed our rundown of the major items on the agenda on Friday, catch up here.
Please note, leaders are listed in the order in which they are expected to speak, but the schedule sometimes runs ragged. You can find a complete schedule here.
Major Speakers on Tuesday
- Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: By tradition, the Brazilian president opens every General Assembly debate. Lula has complained about too much focus on Ukraine at the expense of other global issues, watch for his rhetoric here.
- U.S. President Joe Biden: The only leader from a permanent member of the Security Council who is attending the summit in person, expect lots on Ukraine and appeals for development aid and climate action..
- Colombian President Gustavo Petro: The left-wing leader called for an end to the war on drugs in his first UNGA speech last year — and now cocaine exports are booming.
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Often the belle of the geopolitical ball the past two years, Turkey has played a crucial role in the Black Sea grain deal and is the only NATO member with good ties to Moscow. This one is worth your time.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: With his counteroffensive making slow progress and whispers of “Ukraine fatigue” spreading across Europe and the US, the actor-turned-president is looking to make a command performance to shore up support.
Major Conferences
- Day 2 of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development Goals