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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Mayor’s Ouster Is Approved in Colombia | Mayor’s Ouster Is Approved in Colombia |
| (6 months later) | |
| CARACAS, Venezuela — The leftist mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, lost his fight to stay in office after President Juan Manuel Santos approved an order to remove him and bar him from holding public office for 15 years. | |
| In a clash that has captivated the nation and has pitted figures on the left and right against one another, the mayor, Gustavo Petro, was initially ordered out of office in December by the country’s powerful inspector general, who decided that Mr. Petro had acted improperly when he switched garbage collection in the city to a municipal agency, taking it away from private companies. | In a clash that has captivated the nation and has pitted figures on the left and right against one another, the mayor, Gustavo Petro, was initially ordered out of office in December by the country’s powerful inspector general, who decided that Mr. Petro had acted improperly when he switched garbage collection in the city to a municipal agency, taking it away from private companies. |
| Mr. Petro fought his removal, but the nation’s high court for administrative proceedings, the Council of State, ruled Tuesday that it could go forward. | Mr. Petro fought his removal, but the nation’s high court for administrative proceedings, the Council of State, ruled Tuesday that it could go forward. |
| After the court ruling, the inspector general submitted the removal order to the president, who approved it Wednesday night and appointed his labor minister, Rafael Pardo, to be interim mayor until a new election is held in May. | After the court ruling, the inspector general submitted the removal order to the president, who approved it Wednesday night and appointed his labor minister, Rafael Pardo, to be interim mayor until a new election is held in May. |
| Mr. Santos acted despite a request, issued the same day as the Council of State ruling, by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for the government to suspend the decision to remove Mr. Petro, saying it put his political rights at risk. | Mr. Santos acted despite a request, issued the same day as the Council of State ruling, by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for the government to suspend the decision to remove Mr. Petro, saying it put his political rights at risk. |
| Mr. Petro, 53, a former guerrilla, attributed his removal and his political banishment to a right-wing political establishment threatened by the prospect that he might someday be elected president. The inspector general, Alejandro Ordóñez, who ordered his ouster, is a conservative who has received criticism for his stands on social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. | Mr. Petro, 53, a former guerrilla, attributed his removal and his political banishment to a right-wing political establishment threatened by the prospect that he might someday be elected president. The inspector general, Alejandro Ordóñez, who ordered his ouster, is a conservative who has received criticism for his stands on social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. |
| In a speech from the balcony of the mayor’s office Wednesday night, Mr. Petro said his removal was antidemocratic, calling it a coup. | In a speech from the balcony of the mayor’s office Wednesday night, Mr. Petro said his removal was antidemocratic, calling it a coup. |
| Mr. Petro was elected in 2011 to a four-year term. The handover of garbage collection in December 2011 was widely seen as a disaster. The city was ill prepared, and trash piled up in the streets. | Mr. Petro was elected in 2011 to a four-year term. The handover of garbage collection in December 2011 was widely seen as a disaster. The city was ill prepared, and trash piled up in the streets. |