In the midst of a regional agenda that he advanced in the department of Chocó this Wednesday, August 13, President Gustavo Petro sparked controversy by mentioning “reelection.”
On his X account, the head of state stated: “The expansion of the Bahía Solano airstrip in Chocó begins.”
"While over there they shout 'Out,' over here they shout 'reelection.' Not even for the project of life; they want the specters of death to enter. And reelection, yes, for the project of life, democracy, and peace," the Colombian president noted on that digital platform.
The expansion of the Bahía Solano airstrip in Chocó begins.
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) August 13, 2025
While over there they shout"Out", over here they shout"reelection".
Not even for the project of Life, they want the specters of death to enter.
And reelection yes, for the project of Life, Democracy and…
It should be noted that, according to the Colombian Constitution, reelection is prohibited. On paper, Petro's term is due to end on August 7, 2026.
However, the president's message recalled what Nariño's Chief of Staff, Alfredo Saade, recently said, when he directly expressed his desire for Petro to remain in office for the next 20 years.
“We need not only a constituent assembly, but also for President [Gustavo] Petro to remain as president of the Republic for the next 20 years. That's why I've told the country that we need to talk about reelection,” Saade said in a fragment of the video posted on TikTok.
Furthermore, the senior Petro government official noted: “Anyone who doesn't change their minds is an idiot. Logically, time has passed, things have changed, and the vision of the country is changing. There's no problem with what he said in 2018 and what's happening now.”
"The Constitution is completely shorn, or the necessary articles have been shorn so that popular power can enjoy the rights it provides," Saade stated.
But these kinds of statements by Saade led to several complaints being filed against him, one of which was filed by former Justice Minister Wilson Ruiz.
“We are going to seek a verbal process, so that, in a matter of 30 or 40 days, we will have him removed from office, from the outside. That is a very serious offense, it is total shamelessness to do it in the Congress of the Republic, shouting reelection,” Wilson Ruiz noted at the time in conversation with SEMANA.
