Gustavo Petro

Gustavo Petro Francisco Urrego ( born April 19, 1960 in Cienaga de Oro / Departamento de Córdoba) is a Colombian politician and former member of the guerrilla organization Movimiento 19 de Abril (M -19). He was elected in the local elections in 2011 with about 32 percent for mayor of Bogotá.

Life

Youth

Petros parents were farmers and he attended school in Zipaquirá.

At the age of 22, he was elected as a councilor in the municipal parliament. He also studied at the University of Economics and Public Administration.

Policy

As a result, he joins the rebel group M-19. Thus he went to jail and then went into hiding. Finally, he joined the Polo Democrático Alternativo (PDA).

In 1991 and 1995 he was elected as a deputy to the lower house of Congress. In 2006 he came to the Senate. There, he specialized in uncovering connections between the then president Álvaro Uribe and the paramilitaries.

During the election campaign for the post of mayor he separated from the PDA and sparked Samuel Moreno Rojas from, who had to resign because of poor management and corruption office in March 2011. On 30 October, the citizens elected him with 32 percent to the future mayor of Bogotá. He took up office on 1 January 2012.