Colombia President Reinstates Ousted Bogota Mayor

Colombia President Reinstates Ousted Bogota Mayor
BOGOTA, Colombia April 23, 2014 (AP)
By LIBARDO CARDONA and JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press

Colombia's capital is set to change hands for a third time in little over a month after President Juan Manuel Santos said he would execute a court order reinstating Bogota's ousted leftist mayor.

"My obligation, as president of the republic, is to follow the law and what the justices decide," Santos said Wednesday after signing a decree ordering Gustavo Petro's immediate reinstatement.

The surprise ruling late Tuesday by the Superior Tribunal of Bogota is the latest twist in an ongoing legal saga pitting the former guerrilla firebrand against Colombia's more conservative political establishment.

The court, in giving Santos 48 hours to return Petro his job, cited the president's failure last month to heed a ruling by the Inter-American Human Rights Commission that found Colombia's Inspector General violated regional human rights charter by ordering Petro's removal and barring him from politics for 15 years.

In ordering Petro's ouster in December, the Inspector General Alejandro Ordonez said Petro overstepped his constitutional authority in a heavy-handed but ultimately failed attempt to replace private trash collectors.

Petro, 54, denied any wrongdoing and has accused Ordonez of mounting a witch hunt against politicians who don't share his conservative views.

Petro will take over from acting Mayor Maria Mercedes Maldonado, who Santos named this week in replacement of another caretaker, Rafael Pardo.

His job is far from secure, however. In addition to another legal ruling by a higher court he could face a recall vote that had been scheduled for April 6 but was cancelled after his removal.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/colombia-court-reinstates-ousted-bogota-mayor-23432314