President Gustavo Petro had barely been in power for four months when the tragedy in Rosas, Cauca occurred. The landslide almost erased the population from the map, covered the Pan-American highway and left more than 700 people affected. The care of the victims had to be done through the National Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD).
(You can see: President Petro assures that the peace agreement would enable him to call a constituent)
More than a year later, several of the victims have not received a response. Given this panorama, President Petro once again questioned the management carried out by Olmedo López, the official he put in office, as he has accepted on several occasions.
President Gustavo Petro from Cauca.
Photo:Presidency
In his speech on Friday in Cauca, the president questioned that the land could not have been purchased to relocate those affected by the natural tragedy. “It cannot be possible that a State is not able to buy land that is worth 1.3 billion pesos, that is worth half a farm or a middle-class apartment in Bogotá,” he indicated.
“As miserable as the worst neoliberals who have ever governed Colombia. Therefore, corruption has no political color, corruption is a degradation of the heart and mind. It happened here, so that has to be compensated,” he said.
According to Gustavo Petro, the UNGRD always had enough budget to care for the victims but there has been no political will. In that sense, attention was drawn to the way in which resources were allocated in the entity led by López.
President Gustavo Petro touring Miranda, Cauca.
Photo:Presidency
Along these lines, he indicated that in several of the tragedies that were reported in his government (Piojó, La Mojana, Rosas and others) there was no timely attention but the resources did arrive without delay in areas that were not needed.
Finally, he launched his spear against Olmedo López. “And the leader is supposedly from the left who puts the people first (…) That is called a complete moral bankruptcy, not only of an individual but of the very conception that one must have to govern. So, there is no more I have to apologize, because there is no explanation other than greed,” the president concluded. It was in that same speech that President Petro suggested that the peace agreement could be the way to convene his constituent assembly.
