AOC And Other Democrats Meet With Far-Left Colombian President

(TheConservativeTimes.org) – A number of progressive Democrats led by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., met with the far-left president of Colombia Gustavo Petro on August 21 as part of a broader tour of socialist Latin-American countries.

During the meeting, Petro proposed an “alliance of life and nature” with Ocasio-Cortez and the other Democrats, saying that the present economy must change to reverse the damages of climate change. Colombia was the last stop on the Democrats’ tour of Latin-American countries, which was sponsored by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CERP), a think tank based in Washington, D.C.

Ocasio-Cortez was reportedly touring with fellow New York Rep. Nydia Velazquez, Texas Reps. Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar and Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost. Also along for the tour was Senator Bernie Sanders’ chief of staff. In addition to Colombia, the tour included stops in Brazil and Chile. Ocasio-Cortez said that the purpose of the trip was to discuss issues such as climate change, immigration and democracy.

Petro is Colombia’s first ever leftist president, and has declared himself a staunch opponent of fossil fuels such as coal and oil. He is also a former member of the radical left-wing M19 guerilla warfare group. In 1991, the group agreed to demobilize as an armed guerilla group and instead become a political party.

Petro also said that the alliance between him and the progressive Democrats is part of a larger effort to convince other progressive movements to permanently swear off support for oil and coal as sources of energy. He said further that the problem is more specific to the U.S. due to its continued reliance on fossil fuels, as well as the lobbies within the government that continue to pressure lawmakers to uphold fossil fuel company interests.

Petro emphasized that if the progressive movement in the U.S. fails, “the whole of humanity falls,” saying that it is important to “relate” to the American people, despite the immense differences between the two countries.