Gustavo Petro arrives in Mexico: Master lecture at UNAM generates high expectations
The former president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, began an official visit to Mexico City this week, marking his first international trip after ending his term on August 7. The former leader is on Mexican soil to give a keynote lecture at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), an event that has generated massive interest among the academic and student community.
The conference, titled Capital in the Twenty-First Century: Political Economy of the Climate Crisis, has achieved a resounding success in its call for attendance. As reported by Petro himself through his official channels, the spots to attend the event sold out in just two hours, which forced the organizers to move the venue to the Alfonso Caso Auditorium within University City to accommodate a larger audience.
Analysis of robotization and fascism
During his presentation, scheduled for this Wednesday, the leader of the Historic Pact will delve into his vision regarding the climate crisis and its close relationship with the current economic model. Petro has announced that he will present a central thesis on how automation and robotization, inherent to the current phase of capital accumulation, could lead to dynamics associated with fascism.
In just two hours, the spots for my academic lecture at the UNAM in Mexico were sold out.
Gustavo Petro
This academic event is part of the promotion of his book, Political Economy of the Climate Crisis. Petro recently confirmed that he reached an agreement with the writer and director of the Fondo de Cultura Económica (FCE), Paco Ignacio Taibo II, for the editing and distribution of this work in the Spanish-speaking market and other languages, following a meeting held upon his arrival in the Mexican capital.
Agenda and political context
Petro’s visit is taking place in a climate of political attention. Although the former Colombian head of state has established himself as one of the most critical opposition voices in his country after concluding his term, his stay in Mexico is focused mainly on the intellectual and editorial sphere.
For her part, the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, recently pointed out that, although she welcomes the former president to the country, there is no official agenda of meetings scheduled between them. Petro, who assumed the leadership of the Historic Pact party after his departure from the Nariño Palace, will remain in Mexico until next Wednesday, continuing with his scheduled activities before returning to Colombia.
