‘Petro announces a civic day with the purpose of altering the marches’

The Senator of the Democratic Center, Miguel Uribe Turbaywas in an interview with EL TIEMPO and discussed the motivations behind the opposition marches and their importance for the country, the situation in Congress and its ratification of the denunciation of President Gustavo Petro before the Accusations Commission of the House of Representatives.

This April 21, opposition marches will take place throughout the country, the reason for the demonstrations would be the Government reforms and the President’s proposal to convene a National Constituent Assembly. The marches will measure the pulse of public opinion regarding the latest developments in the political situation.“We are going to take to the streets in a tremendous, gigantic, multitudinous demonstration,” declared Senator Miguel Uribe.

Recently, an agreement between the Government and the Liberal Party has been reached that has facilitated the process of legislative reforms. How do you understand this understanding?

The Government has managed, with the Liberal Party bench and with the U, to advance in the intentions of imposing the pension reform, In my opinion, that creates a crisis of representation, because the vast majority of Colombians do not want this government.

I have to recognize that in these parties there are also congressmen who are not supporting the reforms, but they have managed to reach almost 60% of the articles and To a large extent, the most serious part of the reform has already been done.

Do you think that this understanding between the liberal caucus and the President can be maintained after this reform?

The truth is that the Government has a very precarious majority, they have no room for action, they are very tight in numbers. We will see over time if this translates into spaces and bureaucratic representation or if it implies giving them visibility in certain initiatives.

I understand that the Liberal Party told President Petro, we support him with the pension reform but we do not agree to revive the health reform. I do not believe that this understanding implies 100% of the government’s initiatives, it is very focused on pensions.

Will the agreement on the threshold to contribute to Colpensiones, which is 2.3 minimum wages, be maintained in the House of Representatives?

Probably, having been an agreement endorsed by the government, you would think that they are not going to try to modify it, but it could be a possibility taking into account that in the Chamber the Government has majorities. A sector of Congress wanted a minimum wage as a threshold, but the Government was not going to accept, So the Liberal Party decided to divide it in half between 1.5 and 3, and that gives 2.3, without any technical criteria.

You ratified your complaint to the Commission of Accusations against President Petro for irregular financing and for violating financing limits. Do you believe that your action will succeed?

I ratified my complaint for several reasons, first because it is my duty as a senator and citizen. and second because we have to unite to carry out the necessary actions within the framework of the law to be able to protect democracy.

Today the president announced a civic day for the care of water, some have said that it is possibly a move to dampen the influx of the opposition marches. How do you read the panorama?

Petro is afraid of this march, he is scared to death, because he knows that Colombia does not want him. He knows that we are going to take to the streets in a tremendous, gigantic, multitudinous demonstration. We are going to fill all the cities in the country and in that order of ideas, in a cowardly way he goes out and announces a civic day with the purpose of altering the march.

Do you think that the announcement will affect the attendance of the marches this April 21?

Let him do what he has to do, on Sunday we are going to fill the streets of Colombia. We, the citizens, are going to defend Colombia until the last circumstances within the framework of the law and that is why we are going to march this April 21. I invite us to spare no effort and go out and march, because it is the best way to avoid the Constituent Assembly.

The president has said that he wants to convene a Constituent Assembly to fulfill the promises of the ’91 Constitution. How do you understand that proposal?

It seems to me that the sole proposal is clumsy, it is absurd, to pretend that the Constitution must be changed to materialize the Constitution of ’91, That argument falls under its own weight.

If the President does not have the support of civil society for his Constituent Assembly proposal, as you say, why is there so much danger?

The President would not have the support to carry it out, Petro is willing to make a Constituent Assembly outside the law, That is to say, the 1991 Constitution establishes a regulated mechanism to make a Constituent Assembly. In article 376 of the Constitution it is said that to be a Constituent Assembly, a law is first required before Congress, a constitutionality control in the Court and finally a referendum.

Petro does not have the necessary majority in Congress, nor will it meet the threshold. But you can create election mechanisms different from the traditional ones, you can invent a vote by collectives, by groups, by sections.

A North American intelligence report has come to light in which the name of the former president, Julio César Turbay Ayala, is mentioned in relation to alleged drug trafficking links. How do you receive this information?

First I have to say that it is a personal opinion, It is not an official government document, it is not a judicial investigation, it does not imply any type of sanctions. It is an opinion, the same report shows that the person who is carrying out actions against drug traffickers is precisely President Julio César Turbay. It is worth remembering that the first drug extradition treaty to the United States was signed under the government of Julio César Turbay and it goes without saying that Pablo Escobar, in punishment and retaliation, kidnaps Diana Turbay, the president’s daughter, my mother, and finally murders her.

It ends up being a racket of people who seek to link the president with drug traffickers. What they say is that a family member “said”, then a series of speculations begin. I come back and repeat, that report is not an investigation, while he was president, he not only had great relations with the United States but was also always well received in that country.

SANTIAGO MALAGÓN RESTREPO – POLITICAL EDITORIAL