Colombia presidential favourite Gustavo Petro apologises for drunken speech
- Presidential front-runner Gustavo Petro appeared worse for wear at a campaign rally
- Petro, 61, is currently leading the polls ahead of the presidential election in May
The front-runner in Colombia’s May presidential election apologised on Tuesday for a speech he gave the day before while under the influence of alcohol, which drew criticism and jeers from his opponents.
Gustavo Petro admitted he had been tired and jet-lagged after a trip to Europe the week before and “did not handle well alcohol consumed in private before the meeting in Girardot”, a city 80km (50 miles) southwest of the capital Bogota.
“I apologise to those who attended the event, a commitment I promised to honour despite my fatigue,” Petro said on Twitter.
In the video of his speech, which was widely shared on Colombian social media, the senator, who was once a member of a far-left guerilla group, proclaims: “May the red flags be raised again, may this city be called the red capital of Colombia again!”
He went on to attack local voters who supported the right-wing ex-president Alvaro Uribe and then the current conservative head of state Ivan Duque.
“How can you do that if you voted for Uribe, if you voted for Duque?” he says, speaking abruptly and with jerky gestures.