In a political scenario in the middle of an election year, The use of the image of President Gustavo Petro has ceased to be an aesthetic issue and has become a tool of political control. The choice to equate himself with the jaguar, an animal that has a deep symbolic meaning, especially in the Amazon, is not accidental, just as the jacket of a pilot in the middle of a political “storm” functions as a visual metaphor for his style of government.
This is what Álvaro Benedetti, a political analyst consulted by EL COLOMBIANO, believes that the head of state wants to project a president who tries to pilot the country in the middle of a storm, under a clear premise: in critical situations, audacity is required rather than bureaucracy, even if that means ignoring the “manual” or traditional protocol.
In his words, Petro has systematically abandoned the mold of the traditional president and solemn forms. Although he is already part of the establishment, his image seeks to project someone who is irreverent in the face of power. This visual break, the expert suggests, It is a tactic to show himself as an anti-system figure that prioritizes the “message of transformation” and the social over diplomatic labels.
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Gustavo Petro has abandoned the sobriety of his old Ferragamo shoes to immerse himself in an aesthetic and political reinvention, designed to project an image of strength and intimidation just when his project shows signs of fatigue. In the midst of his bet, experts agree, the president seeks to activate the fiber of historical resentment against North American power, connecting with the peasant and the humble worker who feels humiliated by the “empire.”
Their political communication also includes controversy over the price of their clothing, with criticism that points to jackets over $2,000. However, the political analyst points out, for President Petro, these types of negative comments from the “pro-establishment” sectors have the opposite effect: instead of affecting him, they exalt him in front of his bases.as they reinforce his image of someone who does not bow down to criticism from the elites.
According to Álvaro Benedetti, the recent symbols adopted by the president do not seek to expand his sympathies in a traditional way, but rather to maintain a strong identity in the face of a management and negotiation capacity that is today perceived as limited. For Benedetti, the breaking of protocol and the departure from the classic presidential image (of a tie and traditional molds) is a deliberate tactic to strain the governance model. The analyst maintains that, given the difficulties in advancing through laws and institutions, the president chooses to transfer the dispute to the symbolic field.
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The image of “irreverence in the face of power,” he says, is a central component of his identity, even occupying the highest position in the establishment. Benedetti points out that this position generates a marked division in the country: “50% of the population may perceive these actions as signs of audacity and a genuine connection with the people; the other 50% consider it ridiculous,” especially in the international arena.
For Rubén Erazo, political scientist and president of the Colombian Association of Political Consultants, Acopol, through a facelift and the use of designer jackets the president does not seek simple vanity but rather to execute power marketing. His goal, he says, is to look “cool” in front of his electorate, transforming himself into a feline capable of holding the gaze of the “imperialist eagle” that Donald Trump represents.
Erazo says that Petro is betting, unlike the late Pepe Mujica in Uruguay (faithful to his style and essence until the end), on a desperate reinvention so as not to lose political prominence, building a new image of power that moves away from its previous version. This narrative focuses on the figure of the jaguar, a symbol that seeks to project strength, dominance, territoriality and autonomy just when its political project begins to show signs of fatigue.
For this professor and political scientist, the use of the jaguar is not coincidental since it is an animal with a presence from Mexico to Argentina. Petro is trying to fill the leadership vacuum on the regional left—with a weakened Maduro and a veteran Lula—to position himself as the head of the Latin Americanist caucus.
“Petro wants to look strong, robust, intimidating, just when his political project begins to show some fatigue. That’s why we went from the Petro of the Ferragamo shoes a couple of years ago to the Petro of the designer clothes worth tens of millions of pesos, and the Petro of the face lift. He is building a new image of power,” says the expert.
Thus, Petro is drawn as a feline capable of discursively confronting Donald Trump, represented as the “imperialist eagle.” To support this story of strength, he says, the president has resorted to a physical and material transformation that includes a face lift and the use of very high-cost designer clothing, “such as jackets worth 48 million pesos. It is not about simple aesthetics, but about power marketing designed to look great.”
The final objective of projecting this rejuvenated and powerful image is to gain loyalty from its structures in the face of the 2026 elections, insists political scientist Erazo. Petro knows that “he who loses the story, loses the street,” and maintaining that mystique is vital to retain his voter base and prevent them from feeling defeated.
Question and answer block
- Why does Petro use symbols like the jaguar?
- Because they reinforce a narrative of power, resistance and connection with the ancestral, especially in contexts of political and electoral crisis.
- Is Petro’s image spontaneous or strategic?
- According to analysts, it is a deliberate construction to project anti-system leadership and sustain its political identity.
- Does this strategy benefit Petro electorally?
- It strengthens its political base, although it also deepens polarization and limits its appeal in moderate sectors.
