Former guerrilla leader takes oath as Colombia’s first leftist president

Promising to fight inequality and bring peace to a country long haunted by bloody feuds between the government and rebel groups, Colombia’s first leftist president was sworn into office Sunday.

Pledging to unite the polarised country in the fight against inequality and climate change, the former member of the M-19 guerrilla group promised to revive scuppered peace negotiations with the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels.

Saying the United States-led war on drugs has failed, he called for a new international strategy to fight drug trafficking.

During his inauguration speech, he said "I do not want two countries, just as I do not want two societies. I want a strong, just, and united Colombia."

Petro's oath-taking ceremony was attended by Spanish King Felipe VI and at least nine Latin American presidents along with 100,000 invitees.

The 62-year-old former senator had defeated conservative parties that failed to connect with voters frustrated by rising poverty and violence against human rights leaders and environmental groups in rural areas.

Highlighting that climate change must be fought internationally, Petro vowed that Colombia would transition to an economy without coal or oil.

Fueling the popularity of leftist parties in national elections, the focus of voters was turned away from the violent conflicts playing out in rural areas and gave prominence to problems like poverty and corruption by a 2016 peace deal between Colombia’s government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.