The 1994 Oath That Shaped Petro's Vision: When He and Chávez Swore Bolivarian Integration

In 1994, Gustavo Petro was a 34-year-old former guerrilla turned congressman. Hugo Chávez was a 40-year-old ex-military officer who had attempted a coup two years earlier and was newly released from prison. Neither man held real power. But at the Bridge of Boyacá—the site where Bolívar's forces won the decisive battle for Colombian independence in 1819—they swore an oath that would shape both their careers.

The Bridge of Boyacá

The location was no accident. The Battle of Boyacá on August 7, 1819, broke Spanish control over New Granada and opened the path to Gran Colombia's creation. For Bolivarians, it is holy ground—the place where the dream of Latin American unity was forged in blood.

Details of the 1994 meeting remain sparse. What is documented is that Petro and Chávez, along with other leftist Latin American leaders, gathered at the bridge and "swore an oath of Bolivarian integration for Latin America." The specifics of that oath have never been fully disclosed, but its influence on both men's subsequent politics is undeniable.

Two Paths, One Vision

Chávez would go on to win Venezuela's presidency in 1998 and launch the "Bolivarian Revolution"—a socialist project explicitly framed around Bolívar's legacy. He created ALBA (the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America), challenged U.S. hegemony, and never stopped invoking Gran Colombia as the ultimate goal.

Petro took a different route. He remained in Colombian politics, serving as a senator and later as mayor of Bogotá. Unlike Chávez, he worked within existing democratic institutions rather than seeking to overturn them. But the Bolivarian vision never left him.

Petro on Chávez's Death

When Hugo Chávez died of cancer on March 5, 2013, Petro's reaction revealed the depth of their connection:

"Even if many do not like him, Hugo Chávez will be a man who will be remembered by the history of Latin America, his critics will be forgotten."

This was a politically risky statement in Colombia, where Chávez was widely despised. But Petro refused to disavow the man with whom he had shared that oath nearly two decades earlier.

The Oath Fulfilled?

When Petro finally won Colombia's presidency in 2022—becoming the country's first leftist head of state—he was in a position to act on the promise made at Boyacá. The border reopening, the CELAC engagement, the BRICS membership, and ultimately the confederation proposal can all be read as fulfillment of that 1994 oath.

Chávez didn't live to see it. His Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela collapsed into economic crisis and authoritarian dysfunction. But the dream survived—carried now by his old comrade from the bridge.

A Different Bolivarianism

Petro's vision differs from Chávez's in crucial ways. Where Chávez centralized power and antagonized opposition, Petro has worked within constitutional limits. Where Chávez relied on oil wealth, Petro emphasizes clean energy transition. Where Chávez's rhetoric was inflammatory, Petro quotes García Márquez.

But the core remains the same: Latin American unity. Regional integration. The belief that fragmented nations are vulnerable nations—and that Bolívar's dream of Gran Colombia points the way forward.

The oath at Boyacá was sworn thirty years ago. Whether it will finally be fulfilled depends on what happens next.