Colombians rally behind their president Gustavo Petro and for their national sovereignty. They also chant: ¡Yankis, fuera del país! Solidarity Between NJ and Colombia, Both Directions!
On Wednesday, January 7th, just a few days after the US had kidnapped Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores de Maduro and taken them to be tried in the United States, I had the good fortune to be able to attend one of the rallies called by President Petro for 4pm that afternoon. Friends and I went to the Plaza de Bolivar in the center of Armenia, the capital of the department of Quindío. There were similar events held in many plazas in Colombia, with thousands attending, but it seemed the largest rally of all was held in Bogota, the capital of Colombia and the location of the presidential office in Casa Naranja.
The demands were straightforward and clear. The people showed their support for the president by chanting: ¡Petro, Amigo, El pueblo está contigo! (Petro, Friend, the people are with you). The people also chanted for a Colombia free and in control of its own sovereignty: Colombia: ¡Libre y soberana! Speakers and attendees also lashed out at Donald Trump and the US, by chanting: Yankis ¡a fuera de pais! a chant the North has heard from centuries. Simon Bolivar was referenced many times with the reminder that when he called for the independence of Latin America in the early 19th century, he also said, “The United States appear to be destined by Providence to plague America with misery in the name of liberty.“ In fact, Bolivar named the U.S. as the biggest obstacle to the unification of Latin America, a unification he thought was very important and a unification that many people from South and Central America still feel is very important.
After 200 years plus of living under the Monroe Doctrine implemented in 1823, many Colombians in attendance at these rallies understood that the U.S. attack on Venezuela, a neighbor of Colombia, represented an attack on all of Latin America. Those gathered opposed violence against Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia, Gaza and the West Bank and wanted an end to the Monroe Doctrine, so they could maintain sovereignty over their own country.
And while a day or two later, Donald Trump invited Petro to visit the US, many Colombians are skeptical of Trump’s motives and prefer that he stay at home. This writer is one of those people! After decades of living in the US and working as an activist, I was so psyched to be part of an effort that impacts people both in Colombia and back in New Jersey. Whether one is from Colombia and living in the US or from the US and living in Colombia, we are all at risk from the consequences of either the international or domestic policy. The need and opportunity for international solidarity have rarely been as important as it is today.
