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Former mayor, Gustavo Petro, will be inaugurated in as Colombia's first leftist President on Sunday, with plans for major reforms in a country plagued by economic disparity and drug violence.

The former senator succeeds Ivan Duque for a four-year term that will be supported by a left-leaning majority in Congress.

Colombia, long dominated by a conservative elite, has entered an increasing left-wing fold in Latin America, which might be sealed in October with a likely victory for Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brazil.

At a ceremony in Bogota on the eve of his inauguration, Petro vowed his government would aim to "bring to Colombia what it has not had for centuries, which is tranquility and peace."

"Here begins a government that will fight for environmental justice," he added.

Read next: Venezuela congratulates Colombia on Petro's election win

Petro campaigned on raising taxes on the wealthy, investing in health care and education, and reforming the police after a deadly crackdown on anti-inequality rallies last year that was widely denounced abroad. 

He has promised to halt oil extraction, boost clean energy, and reopen diplomatic and business contacts with Venezuela's government, which has been suspended since 2019.

Petro starts from an "enviable position, with a large majority in Congress and, in terms of the street, with support that no government had in recent years," Cerac analyst Jorge Restrepo told AFP.

"As of today, #Colombia is changing."
Who is #GustavoPetro, Colombia's first leftist president? pic.twitter.com/3uEf78im2I

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 20, 2022

'Debt burden'

Petro's presidency will also be historic in another way: he will be accompanied by the country's first Afro-Colombian woman vice president, environmental and women's rights campaigner Francia Marquez, 40.

The couple will have to deal with an economy still reeling from the coronavirus outbreak, an increase in violence, and deep-seated resentment of the political elite, which culminated in last year's riots.

Almost 40% of Colombia's 50 million inhabitants are poor, and 11.7% are unemployed. Inflation reached 10.2% year on year in July.

Petro's preparatory commission stated on Monday that he would inherit "a level of indebtedness and fiscal deficit that... is critical."

It is worth noting that Colombian presidents serve only one term.