“President Gustavo Petro Begins State Visit to Spain Amid Protests”

• Brayan Xavier Becerra

  [email protected]

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

The Colombian president began his three-day state visit to the Iberian country with a speech in the Spanish Congress

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain received President Gustavo Petro and First Lady Verónica Alcocer at the Royal Palaceto a state visit that will be carried out the Colombian president in the Iberian country.

The ceremony, which lasted approximately 30 minutes, was attended by The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchezand representatives of the main State institutions.

Petro arrived around noon in Madrid (4:05 am Colombian time) and entered the esplanade of the Royal Palace in a Rolls Royce vehicle towards the Patio de la Armería of the Royal Palace, located in the historic center of Madrid, while being escorted by 20 motorcycles of the Royal Guard and then by the Royal Cavalry.

Among Petro’s entourage were Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva; the Colombian ambassador in Spain, Eduardo Ávila Navarrete; the head of the Presidential office, Laura Sarabia; and the Ministers of Mines and Energy, Irene Vélez; Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Germán Umaña Mendoza, and Education, Aurora Vergara Figueroa.

Protests over the arrival of Petro

The reception of the president was not with open arms by all Spaniards. Upon his arrival in Madrid, Demonstrations took place in the streets of the Spanish capital for and against of the visit of the Colombian president.

Likewise, Petro’s agenda was also to intervene in a joint session of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate. But the deputies of the right-wing party VOX and PP left the Congress in Spain before the arrival of the president of Colombia. At the same time, parliamentarians from other parties applauded the presence of the president.

In his speech at the Spanish Congress of Deputies, the President @petrogustavo He spoke about the importance of achieving the transformations promised to the Colombian people. #ColombiaInSpain 🇨🇴🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/MvACD46rDF

– Colombian Presidency 🇨🇴 (@infopresidencia) May 3, 2023

Petro will have a meeting with King Felipe V and will receive the golden key to the city at the Madrid town hall. Besides. she will attend a reception offered by the kings of Spain.

Tomorrow, Thursday, he will open a business forum and then meet with President Sánchez at the Palacio de la Moncloa.

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