Far-right legislators in Spain opposed Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s speech on May 3, reports Digital Journal.
Addressing Parliament, Petro said that his visit was dedicated not only to “memories of the past and historical scars”left over from the fact that Colombia was a Spanish colony in the past, but also “modern requirements”.
His speech was overshadowed by protests from the far-right party Vox, Spain’s third-largest party, whose lawmakers went on strike as Colombia’s first left-wing president approached the podium.
“He is an unrepentant terrorist, a man who insulted Spain before flying here”Vox leader Santiago Abascal told reporters outside parliament, referring to Petro’s involvement with a guerrilla unit when he was a teenager.
Abascal joined several dozen protesters at a protest organized by the Madrid Forum, an alliance of far-right and right-wing Spanish and Latin American lawmakers.
“There was no yoke, but there was a wonderful brotherhood with a common culture, faith and worldview”Abascal said, calling it “outrageous” that the Colombian leader was allowed to speak before the Spanish parliament. — “The only yoke that exists in Colombia is the one that totalitarians like Petro have placed on his people”.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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