The former presidential candidate Sergio Fajardo reacted to the proposal left in the air by the former president Iván Duque during the 58th edition of the Banking Convention which takes place in Cartagena. The latter invited to consolidate a “great national republican alliance” so that A single candidate emerges to face Petrism in the 2026 elections.
Through a trill, the former governor of Antioquia assured that the country cannot tolerate any more polarization. “What a nightmare! Seeing and hearing is believing: Petro vs. Duque? The vast majority of Colombia is “sucked” by this polarization. “It is the turn for common sense and decency to heal this battered, troubled and hopeless Colombia,” he expressed.
Fajardo affirms that at the moment he is “at peace” and is not worried about being a presidential candidate.
Photo:EL TIEMPO Archive
After participating in a panel on the second day of the Banking Convention, the former president of the Democratic Center indicated that “what is required today is that all those who want to be president in 2026 come to the fore now and that they begin to agree on the possibility of Colombia having a great national republican alliance, where there can be, through a consultation mechanism, the unification of who can represent a true alternative to this entire catastrophe,” he said.
After these words, President Gustavo Petro briefly assured that the opposition “is scared.”
Duque’s hints to Petro at the Banking Convention
Gustavo Petro and Iván Duque (composite image).
Photo:TIME
At one point he warned about authoritarian behavior in some Latin American countries. “We are seeing something very dangerous: governments that are elected in democracy, mutate into dictocracy and then become entrenched in dictatorship. In Latin America we are experiencing it in what I call the four acts of the Sao Paulo forum: first act, the of tenderness. They invite everyone to meetings, coffees, understanding between all forces. But, on the other hand, they are purging the Military Forces and silencing the private sector. Then comes ideological radicalization (…) the third act is that of chaos, which is to try to destroy economic sectors in order to legitimize authoritarian measures and then that of institutional rupture for perpetuation in power,” he said.
On the other hand, the former president referred to the situation in Gaza as a result of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and launched these criticisms: “Instead of all collaborating towards a two-state solution, we see countries that far away, in the distance, decide to further inflame the situation, break relations, not reject terrorist acts and that is clearly a violation of an international system.”
JUAN PABLO PENAGOS RAMÍREZ – POLITICAL EDITORIAL
