Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego is the only Colombian who entered the list of the 100 most influential leaders in the world, from the prestigious American magazine Time, which published the 2023 ranking in the last hours.
The head of state shares that position along with other renowned international figures such as his counterparts, the American Joe Biden, and the Brazilian Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; In addition, there is the Argentine star, the soccer player Lionel Messi.
The profile of the first Colombian president was written by another of his fellow presidents: his old friend, the president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, who recalled that he attended the inauguration of Petro in August 2022 and assured that he was “lucky to be there to see the streets of Bogotá full of people and hope”.
Immediately afterwards, the also progressive leader of the southern country described Petro as one of the representatives of the Colombian left and overflowed with praise to describe the Historical Pact, the coalition with which the head of state came to power to replace the uribista Ivan Duque Marquez.
“Gustavo, the leader of a historic political coalition, has built an ambitious and transformative program,” Boric reviewed.
In the text, the Chilean president referred to the steamroller of the Colombian president in the Congress of the Republic and assured that, thanks to the “pragmatism” he possesses, “he has built broad alliances that allow him to dialogue with the majority of the democratic forces of your country,” he added.
In some way, Boric referred to the Total Peace of the Petro government, which is the strategy with which it seeks to disarm all the criminal gangs in the nation and assured that seeking peace in Colombia “is its north.” How does the Chilean president perceive that his Colombian counterpart will achieve those goals? He described it this way:
“-Petro- uses all the knowledge acquired in recent years in a territory besieged by violence for too long, and to rebuild Latin American unity beyond rhetoric, an objective that we share,” said the Chilean head of state.
In the review, Boric does not hesitate to give clear signs that he has a close relationship with the president of Colombia, since he does not call him by his last name, much less by his dignity in the coffee nation, but repeatedly refers to him by his first name, Gustavo.
The Chilean president highlighted the deep – and sometimes controversial – theses of the leader of the Historical Pact, the government coalition. Not least he remembered several of his speeches, like the one he gave in 2022 at the United Nations General Assembly, where he pulled the ears of world leaders for the fight against drugs and the preservation of the environment.
“Gustavo also dares to talk about complex issues, such as the failure of the US anti-drug policy and the need to reform it; the fair distribution of wealth in his country and in the world; and the imperative to care for the environment in the context of a global climate crisis”, added the president of Chile.
To end this decalogue of praise about the president of all Colombians, Gabriel Boric assured that Petro is “a leader who makes difficult decisions and learns quickly” and assured that he deserves “deep respect” not only for what he represents but also for the substantial changes proposed for Colombia.
The Colombian president shares that position along with other personalities that Time recognized as influential, including Michael Jordan, Ali Wong, Austin Butler, Aubrey Plaza, Colin Farrel, Neil Gaman, among many others. with Infobae