# Abelardo De La Espriella inaugurated as Colombia's president in Cali, as Petro skips ceremony and Spain's King Felipe VI attends > Colombia's conservative president Abelardo De La Espriella took office in Cali on August 7 in the first presidential inauguration outside Bogotá in modern Colombian history; outgoing president Gustavo Petro did not attend, a break with tradition; Spain's King Felipe VI, Argentina's Javier Milei and FIFA president Gianni Infantino were among those present; De La Espriella pledged to govern from the regions under the banner of the 'Patria Milagro' **Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-08-07 · heads: Who Decides, What They're Not Saying · 14 takes · 4 lenses · 2 regions ## Summary [Abelardo De La Espriella](/en/entity/person/abelardo-de-la-espriella) took office as [Colombia](/en/entity/colombia)'s president in Cali on August 7 in the first inauguration held outside Bogotá in modern Colombian history, replacing [Gustavo Petro](/en/entity/person/gustavo-petro) after four years. Petro did not attend the ceremony, breaking the convention of outgoing presidents witnessing their successor's swearing-in. Spain's King Felipe VI, Argentine President Javier Milei and FIFA president Gianni Infantino were among the international guests. De La Espriella, a conservative from Cartagena, called his administration "el inicio de la Patria Milagro" and pledged to govern from the regions. El Tiempo framed the handover as "Colombia cambia de rumbo," with security, health and economic inequality as De La Espriella's stated priorities. ## Why it matters The transition ends four years of Petro's left-wing government, which broke with traditional politics but fell into persistent conflict with Colombia's Congress, judiciary and security establishment. De La Espriella inherits [Petro's 'Total Peace' ends as 'Total War', armed groups stronger at his exit](/en/n/colombia-total-peace-collapse-catatumbo) and an unresolved negotiation landscape with armed groups. His regional messaging and the Cali ceremony signal a style break, but the structural challenges of security, inequality and a fragile peace process remain. ## What to watch - Whether De La Espriella maintains, revises or scraps Petro's "total peace" framework with guerrilla and paramilitary groups - Whether governing from outside Bogotá translates into substantive regional policy - The shape of his cabinet and its departure from Petro's coalition picks - Petro's behavior as opposition leader after boycotting the ceremony ## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens) ### Colombia's leading centrist daily; morning-of analysis framing De La Espriella's arrival as a course correction under the headline "Colombia cambia de rumbo," noting the unprecedented venue and the challenges he faces in security, health and the economy - **El Tiempo (Colombia)** (Colombia, es) — El Tiempo framed the handover as a course correction, reporting the ceremony was held in an unprecedented Cali setting and that De La Espriella's administration faces declared priorities of security, health and economic inequality, describing his election as a break from Petro's governing style. > "En una inédita posesión en Cali, comienza el nuevo gobierno con desafíos en seguridad, salud y economía. Gobernar para todos, la gran promesa." Source: https://www.eltiempo.com/amp/politica/abelardo-de-la-espriella/colombia-cambia-de-rumbo-arranca-la-era-del-presidente-abelardo-de-la-espriella-3576785 ### Liberal Colombian daily providing live coverage; confirms presence of Spain's King Felipe VI, Javier Milei and FIFA president Infantino; editorial urges the new government to avoid the sectarianism that marked Petro's four years - **El Espectador (Colombia)** (Colombia, es) — El Espectador's live inauguration coverage confirmed Spain's King Felipe VI, Argentine President Javier Milei and FIFA's Gianni Infantino were present in Cali; the paper's editorial warned De La Espriella that the most important lesson from Petro's tenure is the damage caused by sectarianism. > "Posesión de De la Espriella EN VIVO: Felipe VI, Milei e Infantino ya están en Cali." Source: https://www.elespectador.com/politica/posesion-presidencial-de-abelardo-de-la-espriella-en-vivo-2026-noticias-hoy/ ### English-language Colombian outlet; examines the symbolism of Cali over Bogotá, reporting De La Espriella initially sought to take the oath at a Cauca military base before compromising on Cali as a decentralization signal; also catalogues the international delegations attending - **Colombia One (English)** (Colombia, en) — Colombia One reported delegations from across the Americas, Europe and other regions attended in Cali, and in a separate analysis asked whether the choice of venue constitutes real decentralization or a political gesture, noting De La Espriella had originally wanted to swear in at a Cauca military installation before settling on Cali. > "Delegations from the Americas, Europe, and other regions will attend Abelardo de la Espriella's Presidential inauguration in Cali." Source: https://colombiaone.com/2026/08/06/international-delegations-presidential-inauguration-cali/ ### unlabelled - **Latin Times (US)** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.latintimes.com/colombia-swears-new-president-de-la-espriella-friday-without-petro-without-usual-ceremony-598438 - **El Tiempo (Colombia)** (Colombia, es) — Source: https://www.eltiempo.com/amp/politica/abelardo-de-la-espriella/abelardo-de-la-espriella-y-los-retos-de-su-nuevo-gobierno-3576786 - **El Espectador (Colombia)** (Colombia, es) — Source: https://www.elespectador.com/politica/abelardo-de-la-espriella-hablo-a-pocas-horas-de-su-posesion-en-cali-patria-milagro-seguridad-y-regiones-noticias-hoy/ - **El Espectador (Colombia)** (Colombia, es) — Source: https://www.elespectador.com/opinion/editorial/ante-el-nuevo-mandato/?outputType=amp - **Semana (Colombia)** (Colombia, es) — Source: https://www.semana.com/especiales-editoriales/articulo/posesion-presidencial-de-abelardo-de-la-espriella/202628/ - **Semana (Colombia)** (Colombia, es) — Source: https://www.semana.com/politica/articulo/la-hora-cero-abelardo-de-la-espriella-se-posesionara-como-presidente-de-colombia-y-gustavo-petro-dejara-el-cargo/202640/ - **Semana (Colombia)** (Colombia, es) — Source: https://www.semana.com/politica/articulo/se-conocio-sorpresiva-novedad-sobre-el-primer-discurso-oficial-que-dara-abelardo-de-la-espriella-como-presidente/202659/ - **Colombia One (English)** (Colombia, en) — Source: https://colombiaone.com/2026/08/05/symbolism-cali-de-la-espriellas-inauguration-descentralization-political-gesture/ - **Semana (Colombia) EN VIVO** (Colombia, es) — Source: https://www.semana.com/nacion/cali/articulo/en-vivo-posesion-presidencial-de-abelardo-de-la-espriella-siga-minuto-a-minuto-la-ceremonia-reacciones-y-ultimas-noticias/202658/ - **Semana especiales** (Colombia, es) — Source: https://www.semana.com/especiales-editoriales/articulo/posesion-presidencial-de-abelardo-de-la-espriella/202628/ - **El Tiempo (Colombia, ceremony)** (Colombia, es) — Source: https://www.eltiempo.com/politica/abelardo-de-la-espriella/noticias-de-abelardo-de-la-espriella-7-de-agosto-3576784 ## Across the graph - Related: [[colombia-espriella-0807]], [[colombia-espriella-cali-inauguration-0805]], [[colombia-total-peace-collapse-catatumbo]], [[colombia-petro-congreso-0720]] - Entities: Colombia, Person:gustavo Petro --- Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/colombia-espriella-inauguracion-0807