“It’s the sword of the people. That’s why we wanted her here, right now, in this place. Perhaps it will become a symbolic protocol fact, that always accompanies them (the presidents), that always accompanies them (the presidents). The libertarian sword of Bolivar.”
Simón Bolívar, known as “the Liberator”, was the revolutionary who led the independence of several South American countries, including Colombia. His sword is tied to the history of the country.
But this relic also played a considerable symbolic role for the M-19 guerrillas, of which Petro was a militant in his youth.
The theft of Bolívar’s sword on January 17, 1974 was the first act of the guerrilla 19 de Abril Movement (M-19), which stole it from the Quinta de Bolívar, a house museum in downtown Bogotá.
Supporters of the defunct M-19 guerrilla group attended the presidential meeting. Getty Images.
The M-19 returned it years later, in 1991, after they demobilized following a peace agreement with the Colombian state, but the sword became a myth and no doubt a symbol of their guerrilla and then political struggle.
While the sword was missing, the governments of the day tried to find it endlessly, and in the meantime, the M-19 successfully kept it hidden.
There is a lot of speculation about who kept and cared for it for so many years and certainly not all, nor most, were insurgents. There is talk of playwrights, poets and that he spent some time in Cuba.
No doubt, this Sunday, the sword came to light again.
And the presidential inauguration ended as Petro wanted it to begin: with him holding his wife’s hand walking behind the guarded sword.
