Published:
Aug 8, 2022 19:47 GMT
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During the inauguration of Gustavo Petro as president, the Spanish monarch was booed.
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King Felipe VI of Spain has been at the center of the controversy for starring in what has been considered a disrespectful gesture during the ceremonial acts of the inauguration of the new president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro.
Last Sunday, in the massive act carried out in Bogotá, the monarch did not get up from his chair when the members of Casa Militar and custodians of Simón Bolívar’s sword, independence symbol from Colombia and other Latin American countries, passed in front of him to place her in a space on the stage where Petro offered his first speech as president.
Felipe VI’s gesture has been widely publicized on social networks, where criticism rained down on him because he was the only one of the foreign leaders present at the act who remained seated while honors were paid to him. the sword used by the Liberator Simón Bolívar. The weapon was used against the Spanish troops during the independence struggle in the Bolivarian countries, and which now represents an anti-colonial symbol of Latin American unity.
The presidential inauguration in #Colombia It is August 7 by constitutional norm. The defeat of the Spanish army in Boyacá, the independence is commemorated. The representative of Spain, Felipe VI, should know what he was going for. His obligation was to avoid a diplomatic rudeness. https://t.co/MUO3P7uAJz
– Enrique Santiago (@EnriqueSantiago) August 8, 2022
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The episode could have been avoided if the outgoing government had brought Bolívar’s sword to Petro’s inauguration in advance, who weeks before had announced that the Liberator’s weapon would be present at the event. However, Iván Duque refused to remove the sword from the House of Nariño, alleging alleged security reasons.
To fulfill his promise that Bolívar’s sword would be present in the symbolic acts of the inauguration, Petro —minutes after taking the oath as President of Colombia— ordered the Army to look for the weapon and take it to the protocol event, decision that became his first term as Head of State.
“As president of Colombia, I order the Military House to bring Bolívar’s sword. An order of the popular mandate and of this president before the people, before Congress and before the State,” Petro said.
Minutes later, when the sword that Bolívar wielded more than 200 years ago arrived, everyone present stood up except Philip VI, who was also booed when Petro mentioned his name among the personalities invited to the event.
This is GOLD! Listen to the way that King Felipe VI and the right-wing president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, were booed by the Colombian public… while Gabriel Boric 🇨🇱, Lucho Arce🇧🇴, Alberto Fernández 🇦🇷 and Xiomara Castro 🇭🇳were cheered. A new era for Colombia! pic.twitter.com/vWUb3gJjLv
— Denis Rogatyuk (@DenisRogatyuk) August 8, 2022
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Criticism in networks
the wave of criticism and memes against Felipe VI went viral on Twitter along with the video of the moment. In the social network, several people pointed out the position of the king of Spain as disrespectful and rude and others recalled friction that his father, Juan Carlos I of Spain, had with Latin American leaders such as the Venezuelan Hugo Chávez.
The politician Juan Carlos Monedero was one of those who criticized the monarch: “The brave generals, even when they are defeated, pay homage to those who have defeated them fair and square. May King Felipe VI remain seated when all the decent people of Colombia vibrates on its feet when Bolívar’s sword arrives, it’s sad. Respect, “he wrote.
Brave generals, even when defeated, pay homage to those who have fairly defeated them. That King Felipe VI remains seated when all the decent people of Colombia vibrate on their feet when Bolívar’s sword arrives is sad. Respect. pic.twitter.com/b6eYygGBuB
– Juan Carlos Monedero (@MonederoJC) August 8, 2022
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“You have to go to an act of possession and not stop when the sword of the hero who freed a country from being a colony of your kingdom passes. A moment of King Felipe VI at the swearing-in of Gustavo Petro. Almost in the same anthology as ‘why don’t you shut up’ of his father, Juan Carlos,” said another user.
You have to go to an act of possession and not stop when the sword of the hero who freed a country from being a colony of your kingdom passes. Moment of King Felipe VI at the swearing-in of Gustavo Petro. Almost in the same anthology as “why don’t you shut up” by his father, Juan Carlos. pic.twitter.com/Kc7BjzlyZW
— Bruno Sgarzini (@brunosgarzini) August 8, 2022
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“Unfortunate the disrespectful attitude of Felipe VI, sitting in his chair while all the leaders of the region showed their respect standing up to Bolívar’s sword. Well-deserved boos for a medieval institution that does not represent anything in Latin America, and less and less in Spain,” another person wrote.
Regrettable the disrespectful attitude of Felipe VI, sitting in his chair while all the leaders of the region showed their respect standing up to Bolívar’s sword. Deserved boos for a medieval institution that does not represent anything in Latin America, and less and less in Spain .
— Abraham Mendieta (@abrahamendieta) August 8, 2022
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In addition, another user commented that with the arrival of Bolívar’s sword at the act, Petro placed the Liberator instead of the story he deserves in Colombia.
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