Petro goes from scandal to scandal. Yesterday was the audio of the conversations between Merlano, then a fugitive, and Benedetti, who served as ambassador in Caracas. Another surreal dialogue that should not be forgotten and from which it is deduced that they know something very compromising for the government, so serious that it even endangers their own lives. Today are the self-incriminating statements of the former deputy director of the UNGRD, in which he confesses that, in the company of the Regional Minister and on instructions from the Minister of the Interior, he bribed no less than the presidents of both Chambers and 15 more congressmen with the purpose of get approval for government proposals. As much as Petro tries to blame others, it is clear that the bribes to the parliamentarians had a purpose that benefited him and that, consequently, it is valid to ask if it was he himself who gave the order.
These scandals are added to other previous impudences that range from the illegal financing of the campaign and the violation of the limits, agreements with criminals in prisons through which the elections were won, drug support of different types (from money to airplanes), unreported contributions from contractors and fraudsters, suitcases of money from the ambassador in London, the Ministry of the Interior, from the director of the Presidency, threats to reveal things so serious that “everyone goes to jail and the government collapses”, abuses of power, illegal shootings and polygraphs, suicides of police officers and judicial proceedings against the head of security of the Presidency, and a long etcetera that involves the first-born son, the brother, the wife of the President, his campaign manager, the president of his party , his main political operator in the elections, his right-hand man in the government and several of his ministers.
Any other government would have fallen long ago. But since this is Colombia and it is Petro, it is still screwed there. Being on the left protects him, because he is tolerated what others are not, that many do not want to “victimize” him, and a false sense of institutional stability that shelters the president no matter what he does or has done. There is a fundamental error that must be corrected: what must be defended are the Constitution and the law, the rule of law, which is what must prevail in a democracy, not the presidential figure. On the contrary, it is essential that the country matures enough so that the head of state, no matter who he is, understands that not only is he not above the law but that his behavior must be an example for all citizens. . We have suffered a lot of harm from the inability to condemn Samper, financed by drug traffickers, or Santos, by Odebrecht.
And Petro is not a victim but a victimizer. All the crimes of the campaign and the pacts with criminals were aimed at electing him president. It was he who named the ministers, presidential advisors and directors of public entities involved in bribery. All bribes paid to congressmen have had the purpose of favoring their agenda.
It has not even been his opponents or the control bodies that have uncovered the scandals. It has been his own relatives and officials who have revealed and confessed to the crimes committed. There is, therefore, no such “soft blow.” In fact, this supposed “coup” would be nothing different than the application of the Constitution and the law by the institutions that have jurisdiction. The CNE must be ready to confirm what cannot be hidden: the violation of electoral limits. The Commission of Accusations will not be able to look the other way without incurring a prevaricate like a cathedral. The Supreme Court addresses the investigations of the congressmen involved. And it is the moment of truth, when we will know if prosecutor Camargo is there to cover up for Petro’s relatives and friends and her ministers and officials or to fulfill her duty. A terrible symptom, by the way, is the appointment of the wife of the Secretary of Transparency of the Presidency, what an irony, which the Prosecutor’s Office itself will inevitably have to investigate.
In any case, Petro is cornered. He sees not only how his narrative of change is broken into a thousand pieces, but also how it fails completely both socioeconomically and in security. And that judicial and political impeachment processes are upon him. He seems determined to flee forward.
Today it is much more dangerous. It is in full transition from behaving as if it were the vegetarian left, with respect for democracy, the rule of law, private property and the market economy, to acting like the worst carnivorous left, which after coming to power uses the money to co-opt the institutions, bribe the military, congressmen and magistrates, change the Constitution, impose a socialist model and screw themselves into power.
Petro is openly flirting with self-coup. You have to prepare for that scenario and warn her that, if she gives it, she will have to undertake a carnage. The examples of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela show that if Latin American tyrants are given the opportunity, they stay for decades. We will not allow it. We are an immense majority who are willing to risk our lives in defense of democracy and freedoms and a future of hope for our children.
