A negotiation led in Congress by the Minister of Education herself, Aurora Vergara Figueroa, has teachers on an indefinite strike that leaves students without class and teachers in the streets marching against the government policies that they themselves helped elect. .
The new crisis facing President Gustavo Petro was brewed in the First Commission of the Senate, and the educators, who make up one of the most robust unions, They demand that the statutory education bill be modified or sunk, calling into question the minister’s abilities to continue in charge of that portfolio.
What seemed to be the reform that aroused the least differences in the Legislature ended up being the text that brought the teachers to march and the straw that overflowed the cup of the discomforts of Fecode, who were already upset by the critical implementation of the new health system .
This difficult situation facing the Casa de Nariño began to take shape three weeks ago, when the bench The Government tried in repeated sessions to give the third debate to that article, but they did not succeed due to lack of quorum.
When the key moment arrived, in which assistance was guaranteed, the Government bench (those of the Historical Pact) realized that they did not have enough votes to approve the positive presentation of the bill. As it was a statutory law, an absolute majority was needed.
Vergara Figueroa was not alone in that work. Senator María José Pizarro, one of the most politically influential congresswomen of the Pact, participated in that same conversation and who is also blamed for, Five days before the end of the legislature, an education reform that does not respond to the interests of the Government is about to be approved.
That meeting took place during the first week of June in the Senate Undersecretariat. The political agreement was reached on Tuesday the 4th and it took just a few hours for the article to be approved in the third debate the next day, but minutes were enough for the teachers to come out to reproach what was approved.
“They, in the Government, agreed that it was the only way to unblock the project in Commission,” said a congressional source.
On Wednesday of this week, while the teachers were marching, a new meeting of speakers was held in Senator Pizarro’s office to host a unique presentation that would take into account some of the teachers’ demands, such as the writing of the article on the evaluation performance.
The meeting ended halfway, because the congressmen had to appear to elect the new comptroller. That ended up being the last opportunity to agree on a consensual presentation. There was another meeting for 8:30 in the morning on Thursday, but spirits were already frayed by the massive Fecode march and by the claims of Pact congressmen against their own benchmates.
Educators are on indefinite strike until the bases of the education reform are changed. “This is going to be a long-term strike, because the statutory bill is still standing in Congress and our constitutional right is to mobilize and protest against those policies that can be very harmful to teachers and state public education,” said union leader William Javier Díaz.
The Government broke the agreement it had with the benches of all parties for the education reform and ended up presenting a positive presentation that echoed each of the points presented to it by the teachers on the street. The rest of the benches did the same task, but with an alternative presentation that has support from Cambio Radical, the Democratic Center, the Conservative, liberals and the Party of the U. The votes in the Senate plenary seem to be 50-50.
Even though they promise an indefinite strike, that cessation will take as long as the Congress sessions last. If this particular text does not end its transit before June 20, it will sink for the time being.
All roads are against the Government. First, because both Cambio Radical and the Democratic Center are asking to lead the Senate plenary session for Monday and Tuesday due to the Opposition Statute, which means that those parties would set the agenda. Second, if the alternative text is approved, the teachers will ratify their strike. And, third, time is the main enemy of the Casa de Nariño in this process, since they only have until Thursday, June 20 to obtain support for their presentation, approve it in the fourth debate and reconcile it. Extra sessions are not an option for this particular case.
Fecode also pointed out that “with regard to health care, difficulties are faced in the regions. Some problems are being resolved, there is considerable progress, but pending issues persist that must be addressed urgently.”
Everything indicates that the Government is about to lose nine months of talks with Congress to make the first part of the education reform that it promised its voters in 2022 a reality and that it is just one chapter of that matter, since teachers are demanding a reform of Law 115 (the general education regulations) and a comprehensive reform of education. For now, everything will continue to be a campaign commitment, because Congress has already shown him that his education reform can also crumble if he does not listen to all political actors.
