Camp Petro is Gone

Now you see them, now you don't. Where protesters once camped, today people play with pigeons on Plaza Bolivar, 

For 56 days, until early morning on Sunday, supporters of Mayor Gustovo Petro - or, at least, opponents of his ouster - had camped on Plaza Bolivar in the mayor's support.

But about 3 a.m. Sunday police moved in and cleared out the approximately 30 tents and trucked off tons of 'trash' - much of it likely valued by its owners - was trucked away. The police were obeying an order from Procurador Alejandro Ordoñez - the same official who ordered Petro removed from office for allegedly mishandling the city's trash collection service.

Ordoñez said that the demonstrators had not obtained the necessary permits and could damage the plaza.

Petro, meanwhile, is waiting to see how his court battle works out, and whether he can prevent Pres. Santos from appointing a new mayor on Feb. 8. If Petro evades the ouster order, he'll face a recal vote in early March.

I asked this young man whether he was a Petrista. "Petro is a political prostitute." the told me, explaining that he was there only to oppose Petro's ouster by the procurador, which was 'anti-democratic.'

But while the tents were gone, many of the demonstrators were still on the plaza, in deep conversation, today. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours