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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Tiago Rogero South America correspondent

White elephant in the room: Colombia swears in costumed anti-corruption activist as senator

A person in an elephant mascot costume waves while standing in an aisle of a formal legislative chamber
Luis Carlos Rúa: ‘The inauguration day was spectacular because nothing like it had ever happened anywhere in the world.’ Photograph: Elefante Blanco

When 102 senators were sworn in for Colombia’s latest parliamentary session, they included 32 women, 69 men – and one cartoon elephant.

He had some difficulty making his way down the narrow central aisle of Congress’s ceremonial chamber, weaving past fellow senators in sharply tailored suits and dresses, before taking the oath in his pot-bellied white plush costume.

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