Petro says Sheinbaum invited him to stay in Mexico for academic work, but he chose Colombia

Gustavo Petro says Claudia Sheinbaum offered him a chance to stay in Mexico for academic work, but the former Colombian president told reporters he would rather continue living in Colombia.

Petro made the disclosure after meeting the Mexican president at the National Palace. He said Sheinbaum invited him to participate in what he described as “academic intellectual coordination,” an arrangement he said he did not like doing. “She invited me to some academic intellectual coordination, which I do not like doing, but I decided to live in Colombia,” he told the media as he left the building.

Petro is visiting Mexico on his first international trip since completing his presidential term. He arrived in Mexico City at the end of August and is scheduled to deliver a keynote lecture at the National Autonomous University of Mexico on political economy and the climate crisis.

The meeting also covered the risks of possible interference in Latin American electoral processes and the region’s political outlook. Petro urged Mexico to remain alert to elections in Brazil, Costa Rica and Peru, as well as the advance of right-wing forces in the region, looking ahead to Mexico’s 2027 midterm elections and its 2030 presidential vote.

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She invited me to some academic intellectual coordination, which I do not like doing, but I decided to live in Colombia.