Colombian President Gustavo Petro has called for respect for his private life following a viral video that has sparked a wave of transphobic comments. The video allegedly shows Petro walking hand in hand with a young woman in Panama City during the inauguration of the new president of Panama, José Raul Mulino. Although there is no confirmed evidence that the woman is transgender, social media users and journalists have made such claims, leading to a flurry of discriminatory messages.
Petro remained silent for two days despite receiving thousands of mentions on his X account. This silence led to speculation and closed-door meetings at the Casa de Nariño, the presidential residence. On Wednesday, Petro finally addressed the issue on his X account, where he has 7.5 million followers. He condemned the transphobic messages and defended his right to privacy, stating, 'I have always considered that intimacy is the 'ultima ratio' of freedom, the last trench of being free, and I will preserve this principle until I write about myself or die.'
Petro emphasized that equality and emancipation are core values for progressives and criticized the transphobic comments as expressions of brutality. 'Every progressive knows that human beings are equal and that the fight for that equality implies physical and mental emancipation. No one who considers themselves human can generalize transphobia in weak minds or slavery and discrimination. That action does not express animality but brutality. That is why they murder those who are different and by the millions. That is why Nazis existed and exist,' Petro wrote.
The president's private life has long been a subject of speculation, with various rumors circulating since his time as Mayor of Bogotá in 2012. These rumors often affect his wife, Verónica Alcocer, and his close associates. Despite this, Petro has always guarded his private life jealously and has now asked for it to be respected.
The controversy over the video comes at a challenging time for Petro, who has been in office for nearly two years. His administration has faced several corruption scandals, including allegations of mismanagement of resources in the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management and the trial of his son, Nicolás Petro, for illicit enrichment and money laundering. Additionally, Petro has struggled to gain legislative support for his social reforms, such as health reform.
Despite these challenges, Petro remains committed to his agenda and has proposed a National Constituent Assembly to advance his initiatives. As his government navigates these difficulties, the president continues to emphasize the importance of privacy and respect for all individuals.
- The video in question shows a couple walking closely along a central street in Panama City. Some social media users claimed that the woman in the video is a well-known Colombian influencer, who has publicly denied being the person in the footage.
- The communications office of the Casa de Nariño has not issued an official statement on the matter, and Petro's message on X remains the only public comment from the presidency. The debate continues over whether the president's private life should be subject to public scrutiny.
- Journalist and analyst Melquisedec Torres argued that if the relationship involves the use of public resources, the public has a right to know. However, Cielo Rusinque, superintendent of Industry and Commerce and a close associate of Petro, defended the president's right to privacy, stating that intimate life concerns no one as long as it remains within the bounds of legality.
