The mystery of the cap that President Petro has not taken off in a month

President Gustavo Petro has been launching a new look something peculiar: a cap that never comes off. In all his public appearances since the end of March, a cap (as they say in Colombia) covers his head. It doesn’t matter if he is in an open or closed space. On some occasions it has been black, on other occasions blue or beige; always carries the national coat of arms. The first time it was noticed was because he used it during the possession of Judge Gloria Gómez of the Council of State, inside the Casa de Nariño, the residence of the head of state. She didn’t have the elegance of her black suit, but it didn’t cause much commotion. Since then he has accompanied her in every type of event imaginable: in the great march that he called on May Day, in the Councils of Ministers, in meetings with businessmen, he even gave one to his Brazilian counterpart when they met a few weeks ago in Bogota. The omnipresence of the accessory is so much that it has begun to cause curiosity and speculation on social networks, where it seems that everyone has the same question: What is happening with Petro’s cap?

The arrival of the cachucha coincided with the beginning of the rainy season – “In April, a thousand waters”, says the saying. However, the hypotheses about the new outfit have little to do with the weather conditions, especially in a month in which the rains were slow to arrive. The most popular theory is that Petro is using it to protect his head after having a hair implant. Néstor Morales, the director of the popular radio program Mañanas Blu, raised it on April 10 in response to a request from a colleague. “Something strange is happening to Petro, he is hiding some sheath [cosa]. Tell the country,” political analyst Felipe Zuleta demanded. “They confirm in the Casa de Nariño that the president is on the issue of hair implants,” Morales replied. Just a day earlier, Petro had met with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro. They both wore caps, and through the back of the Colombian’s cap you could see a bald spot on his head.

Investigative journalist Jorge Espinosa, from Caracol Radio, confirmed Morales’ theory that same day. “It’s right. (…) The issue of the cap and the president has more to do with vanity, to which everyone has the right, than with other issues,” he declared in X. “The hair implant is a right that should be constitutional . I say it, I’m bald. And it needs… well cap,” he added ironically half an hour later. Although it is a version of the events that has gone viral on the networks, it is not corroborated by the spokespersons for the Presidency. Petro’s press team has not given a public explanation on the issue. He also did not respond to questions about it from EL PAÍS.

There are also other versions of the story behind the cap – some more credible than others. Several newspapers have suggested that this is “an institutional decision to emphasize the use of the national emblem.” Others have proposed that it is a simple matter of style. The wildest theory belongs to far-right senator María Fernanda Cabal. In interview with Week, alleged on April 29 that Petro had shaved his head as part of a ritual: “What they have said is that he went to Cuba for Easter, we should find out, and that he became a saint. In other words, through Santeria, which he practices (…) Roy Barreras himself [embajador de Colombia en Londres] one day he told me. She shaved her hair and says she has to be hairless for three months as a Santeria rite.”

The next day, Barreras went to X to reject the accusations and mock Cabal. “Funny, senator (because believe it or not, she is a joke even though she is perverse). You are delirious (or dreaming of me perhaps?). “I have never told you such a thing,” she declared. He then emphasized that he is Catholic and that he does not practice Santeria.

Although there is no official answer about Petro’s ubiquitous hat, one thing is clear: it has generated a lot of intrigue. Such is the commotion that last May Day, when thousands of his supporters filled the historic center of Bogotá in support of their president, his mandate and his reforms, several vendors offered a somewhat peculiar product: a replica of the presidential cap. .

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