Colombian President Gustavo Petro was snubbed by far-right lawmakers as he began a state visit to Spain on Wednesday calling for deeper ties with Latin America to fight climate change.
Addressing parliament, Petro said his visit was not just about “remembering the past and the historical scars” left as a result of Colombia’s past as a Spanish colony, but about “modern-day demands”.
His speech was overshadowed by a protest by the far-right Vox, Spain’s third largest party, whose lawmakers staged a walkout as Colombia’s first leftist president approached the podium.
The protest was in response to Petro’s remarks on May 1 about his nation’s 19th-century struggle for independence “from the Spanish yoke”.
“He’s an unrepentant terrorist, a man who insulted Spain before flying over here,” Vox leader Santiago Abascal told reporters outside parliament, referring to Petro’s involvement with a guerrilla group when he was a teenager.
Abascal was joined by several dozen demonstrators for a protest called by the Madrid Forum, an alliance of right and far-right Spanish and Latin American lawmakers.
“There was never any yoke, but a beautiful brotherhood, with a shared culture, faith and worldview,” Abascal wrote on Facebook on May 2, describing it as “outrageous” that the Colombian leader would be allowed to address Spain’s parliament.
“The only yoke that exists in Colombia is the one that totalitarians like Petro have imposed on their people.”
Placing the climate crisis at the heart of his visit, Petro called for “concrete policies” in defence of the environment when Spain takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union on July 1.
With global warming, the world had to chose between “disappearing” or “changing”, said Petro who has been pushing the transition to clean energy and a driving force behind an international alliance to protect the Amazon.
He will meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday.
In power since August 2022, Petro is grappling with a major political crisis that saw him replace seven of his ministers last week as he struggles to push a reform programme through Congress.
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