The visit to Spain of the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, brings together some historical and personal elements that encourage us to project relations with the great Latin American country in terms of the future and overcoming the past: on the one hand the personal biography of the Colombian president, who in his youth was a member of the guerrilla movement M16 and, on the other hand, the tendency of the new populist leaders of Latin America to present the colonial past with Spain as an argument for indigenous political cohesion. Attributing relevance and significance to both historical circumstances that have already been overcome is a mistake that should not hamper trade, diplomatic and cultural relations between the two countries. The gesture of the Vox deputies who withdrew from Congress before Petro’s intervention is a sign of intolerance that does nothing to create a positive climate for the new brotherhood that the Colombian president himself has offered as a project for the future. But this permissive attitude to leave the past behind challenges not only Spanish political forces, but also the new Latin American left leaders, who are tempted to view colonial history with too biased memory.
Source: La Verdad
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