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Colombian Mayor’s Ouster Is Approved After Ruling Mayor’s Ouster Is Approved In Colombia
(35 minutes 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.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 each other, 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, on Tuesday ruled that it could go forward. In a clash that has captivated the nation and has pitted figures on the left and right against each other, 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.
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, blamed his removal and his political banishment on 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, blamed his removal and his political banishment on 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 anti-democratic, calling it a coup.In a speech from the balcony of the mayor’s office Wednesday night, Mr. Petro said his removal was anti-democratic, 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. But many felt the inspector general’s punishment was too harsh, and at first large crowds demonstrated in support of Mr. Petro. The crowds thinned over time, and it was not clear whether the end of the long-running saga would lead to substantial protests. 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, who struggled with poor approval ratings for most of his time as mayor, had also faced a recall election, scheduled for next month. But that was canceled upon his ouster.