An illegal suspension against Colombia’s president. And Mexico looks to make history again at the legendary Estadio Azteca.
Ignacio Portes & Euan Marshall
COLOMBIA
The strange suspension attempt against President Gustavo Petro
Even in a continent that has seen its fair share of presidential instability, the news that Colombian President Gustavo Petro has been suspended from office was sure to shock any reader. But, as it turned out, the headline contained a lot more show than substance.
Just 11 days before a runoff between government candidate Iván Cepeda and right-wing favorite Abelardo de la Espriella, the head of the House Committee on Investigation and Impeachment said it would suspend President Petro from his position until June 21 for violating norms against participating in electoral campaigns while in office.
The decision was completely unprecedented and lacked a legal basis to withstand any scrutiny, as it was neither approved nor discussed by the full committee, and was signed only by the body’s chairperson, Gloria Arizabaleta. The suspension would also have needed full congressional approval in order to take effect.
Adding to suspicions, Arizabaleta is a member of Petro’s own Historic Pact party, and is the ex-wife of one of Petro’s closest aides, Roy Barreras, who is working on Cepeda’s campaign. Prior to this incident, Arizabaleta’s committee had not pushed any probe against Petro during his four years in office.
Critics of Petro said the move was a clumsy ploy from government allies to free the president from legal restraints and allow him to openly canvas for Cepeda in the last week before the vote.
“Our country woke up to a judicial aberration cooked by Petro’s own government. The chamber of representatives has no jurisdiction to suspend the president, least so through a mere committee resolution. This can only be done by the Senate. We are seeing a false-flag attack on Petro, from his own people,” De la Espriella said.
Speaking to the Colombian press, Petro’s party allies denied the allegations, saying Arizabaleta was currently distanced from the government. They also questioned the validity of her decision, agreeing with all legal experts in calling it a constitutional violation
Petro, meanwhile, sought to push the story to the background, focusing on his trip to New York, where he had flown to attend a meeting of the UN Security Council. The president only made a brief, strange comment on the matter, saying that Arizabaleta’s move was ultimately the lawmaker’s attempt at “extortion.”
👉 Why it matters. Whatever drove Arizabaleta’s decision, it has deepened the turmoil within the ruling coalition. Since her announcement, Iván Cepeda’s chances of winning the runoff have fallen from 15% to 12% according to prediction markets — cementing his status as the underdog to De la Espriella.
In an ironic twist, the only real sanction will come against Arizabaleta herself, who was suspended for 10 days by the Attorney General’s office and will face an investigation over what led her to overstep her role so drastically.
Cepeda, meanwhile, will have to make renewed efforts to change the subject. Yesterday, he announced that he will be filing a case against his opponent at The Hague’s International Criminal Court, accusing De la Espriella of ties with paramilitary groups that carried out extrajudicial killings during Colombia’s armed conflict.
WORLD CUP
Mexico looks to make history again at the Estadio Azteca
With Thursday’s 2-0 win against South Africa, Mexico became the first nation in history to host a match at three football World Cups. More than that, the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City is now the only stadium to have hosted three World Cup opening ceremonies, a feat unlikely to be equaled for generations.
The first two opening matches held in the Estadio Azteca (in 1970 and again in 1986) finished as bore draws, so Thursday’s two goals and three red cards at least gave the Mexico City crowd something to celebrate. Indeed, there was an undeniable buzz in the Mexican capital leading up to the opening fixture — but not all of it was positive.
Mexican flags and shirts have been draped over balconies all around the capital, massive billboards of leading striker Raúl Jimenez adorn the sides of buildings and bus stops, and there has been wall-to-wall TV coverage previewing (and now reviewing) the debut against South Africa.
But there were also signs of unrest, as teachers’ unions sought the global spotlight to broadcast their demands about higher wages and the rollback of “neoliberal reforms” in education, while the families of missing persons and victims of violence protested outside Estadio Azteca against Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration.
👉 Why it matters. Estadio Azteca is central to some of the most memorable events in football history, hosting Pelé and Jairzinho’s ‘perfect’ Brazil football team in 1970, as well as Diego Maradona’s unmatched individual performance for Argentina in 1986 — including their legendary quarter-final win over England, featuring the Hand of God and Goal of the Century, in the same match.
Mexico has a chance to make some history of its own in the Azteca this year, breaking the curse of the quinto partido (“fifth match”), which the country has not reached since it last hosted the tournament.
The national team has qualified for eight consecutive World Cups since, and been knocked out in the round of 16 on all but one occasion — 2022’s disastrous group-stage exit — playing four games or fewer in all of its World Cup appearances, bar 1986.
Due to this year’s expanded World Cup format — with 48 teams instead of 32 — Mexico’s quest to reach the quinto partido should be more straightforward than ever. If they go on to win Group A, their fourth match would be a round of 32 clash against a third-placed finisher from groups C, E, F, H or I.
More important than the opponent, however, is the fact that the match would be played in Mexico City, in front of their home fans. If Mexico advances once more, the Azteca would also host the home team’s round of 16 match, potentially against one of the favorites to win the World Cup, England.
The dream got off on the right foot yesterday, when goals from Julian Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez saw El Tri through to an opening day win — though the home fans perhaps felt like they should have seen more, with South Africa posing little threat to the Mexico side.
For the hosts, focus now turns to their remaining Group A matches, playing against South Korea in Guadalajara next Thursday (who also won in its debut yesterday after a thrilling second-half comeback), before returning to the national capital on June 24 to play Czechia.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Which South American nation hosted and won the first-ever football World Cup in 1930?
- Argentina
- Uruguay
- Chile
- Brazil
QUICK CATCH-UP
🧮 With 98.3% of votes counted, right-winger Keiko Fujimori took the lead in Peru’s presidential election against Roberto Sánchez by just 1,300 votes: 50.004% to 49.996%. That difference will expand when contested ballots are added into the final count, as a majority of them come from the capital Lima, which is very unfavorable toward Sánchez.
📉 Inflation numbers in Argentina posted their second consecutive month of decline after a year of bad news for Javier Milei’s government, clocking in at 2.1% in May, down from 2.6% in April and 3.4% in March to reach the lowest figures in eight months. After large austerity efforts, the issue could be the main talking point of next year’s presidential campaign, in a country marked by mistrust in its own currency.
🪧 Bolivia’s COB trade union center suggested a potential flexibilization of its La Paz blockade with a “negotiating table” and “humanitarian pathways” so that basic goods can reach the capital. “Even countries at war have used dialogue to pacify the situation,” COB Secretary General Claudia Choque said. The country’s capital has been under siege for weeks, amid protests against President Rodrigo Paz.
⚽ Another Latin American team will make its World Cup debut tonight, as Paraguay faces the hosts United States in a highly awaited match in Los Angeles. In another unmissable game, Brazil will host last edition’s semifinalists Morocco on Saturday, while the promising Ecuador has a decisive game for qualification versus Ivory Coast on Sunday.