This was Gustavo Petro inside the M-19
After that initial preparation, she got fully involved in the movement, which became a security problem for her and her family, because according to her, her relatives were persecuted and even tortured even when they had absolutely nothing to do with it. his militancy.
However, despite the obstacles that this represented for his life. Herrán continued with his activities within the guerrilla. On a certain occasion, in the year 1988 during the mayoral elections in Colombia and on the eve of his 17th birthday he met “Andrés” (nom de guerre of today’s President Gustavo Petro). A boy who approached her to meet her, however, given her attitudes, Mary Luz was suspicious.
The latter made Mary Luz move away from him and delegated Gustavo Petro’s attention to one of her colleagues, which made the current president go to a corner, right where the National Library in Bucaramanga was. While doing this tour, Herrán thought: “This must be an infiltrated police officer.”
However, “Andrés” continued with his intention to meet her and that was when the next day, Nelson, a colleague who would later be murdered, introduced them. And from that moment he began her love story.
“When I met him, I perceived maturity in him, a very focused person. We talked a lot, while he drank beer, I ate a lot of ice cream, because he was still a minor. He was very kind as he is,” said Herrán.
Herrán describes Gustavo Petro as a kind person who did not even introduce himself as a commander, a role he had at that time. He says that given her security problems, he insisted on taking her on her travels and tours of the country.
A fact that Herrán narrates in detail and that the current candidate fully complied with. Before her release from prison, he looks for her and together they decide to go to Cauca and then to Tolima, this despite the negativity of Herrán’s parents. On the way, they connect with several M-19 bosses who wanted to change the country.
“He was very convinced of the dialogue, of a proposal towards the country. He was a man who did not like weapons, he was very clumsy, if they gave him one, the bullets would come out or he would drop it. He was not good for that, he was an ideologist,” says Herrán about Petro.