Petro vetoes military installations for De la Espriella's inauguration

Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro has explicitly forbidden any military installation from preparing for the inauguration of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella, scheduled for August 7. During a ceremony returning Simón Bolívar's sword to the Quinta de Bolívar museum, Petro declared he would not authorize the use of military facilities for any civilian official's swearing-in, calling such a move "an affront against democracy and the Republic" Source: Infobae.

The core dispute

De la Espriella had promised to be inaugurated in a military garrison in Popayán, a symbolic gesture to honor the armed forces amid the ongoing conflict in the Cauca region Source: El Colombiano. However, Petro, as commander-in-chief until the last second of his term, ordered: "Neither the Army, nor the Navy, nor the National Police ... should prepare a single chair or a single space of any military installation for civilian oaths" Source: El Colombiano.

Senate approval and uncertainty

The Senate has already approved relocating the swearing-in ceremony to the Cauca department (55 votes in favor, 32 against), but the exact venue remains undefined due to lack of quorum Source: El Caribe. The move would be the first time a presidential inauguration takes place outside the Capitol. Petro insists that if De la Espriella wishes to hold a ceremony at a military base, he may do so only after being sworn in. "If he wants, once he takes an oath, but not in a military establishment, he can give whatever orders he wants," Petro added, hinting at potential resistance Source: Infobae Colombia.