From late-night posts to courtroom-ordered apologies, Gustavo Petro governed Colombia through a torrent of metaphors, provocation and literary detours. A Presidency Spoken in Real TimeWhen Gustavo Petro leaves the Casa de Nariño on August 7, Colombia will have heard more than a president. Colombian President Gustavo Petro speaks at a press conference in Bogotá. File photo of Colombian President Gustavo Petro addressing Congress in Bogotá. It will be that he believed language could remake Colombia, and sometimes forgot that words, once released, also remake the speaker.