Marches in Colombia: Petro says that the people will defend democracy if there is a “soft coup” against them

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petroassured this Wednesday that the people will take to the streets to defend the democracy if a “soft coup” occurs against him, in the midst of the biggest crisis that his government has had in ten months in office.

Supporters of Colombian President Gustavo Petro attend a demonstration in support of Petro’s social reforms in Bogotá on June 7, 2023. (Photo by Daniel Muñoz / AFP) (DANIEL MUNOZ/)

“Petro you are not alone. If they dare to violate the popular mandate, the people of Colombia will come out (…) to defend with his clean hands, happy and without violence the (…) popular mandate”, said the president in a speech before thousands of people in Bogota during a demonstration in support of his government’s reforms, which are bogged down in the Congress.

The president has spoken this week of a “soft hit” to refer to the scandal in his government due to the revelations of his former ambassador in Caracas Armando Benedettihis right-hand man during the elections, about alleged irregularities in the financing of his electoral campaign.

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“They put out those lies because there is a strategy that we must understand and confront. They want to destroy the popular support of the Government to have a single Government, they want to isolate the Petro Government from its people, they want to build mistrust in the popular base”, expressed the president.

The objective of those who promote the “soft hit”, according to Petro, is to sink the “social justice reforms in the Colombian Congress”, and then take him before the Commission on Accusations of the House of Representatives, in charge of investigating the complaints against the president, to imprison him, he assured.

Citizens demonstrate today in support of the social reforms of the Government of Gustavo Petro, in the streets of Bogotá (Colombia). EFE/Carlos Ortega

The idea, as he said, speaking in the third person, is “destroy it in the Commission of accusations to do the same thing that was done in Peru: take the president to jail for a new president not elected by the peoplewho would be the one to be elected next semester as president of the Congress of the republic”.

“That is called a soft coup, it is a coup, it is a coup against the popular will.he added.

Petro does not know the legitimacy of the president of Peru, Dina Boluartedespite the fact that she assumed the position constitutionally, since she was the vice president when Pedro Castillo He was fired for attempting to stage a coup on last december 7.

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THE BENEDETTI CASE

The scandal that is shaking the Colombian government worsened last Sunday when the magazine Semana published some audio recordings sent by Benedetti to Laura Sarabiaformer Chief of Staff of Petro, to express his disagreement with the president’s delay in receiving him to explain the telephone interceptions to a babysitter, a case in which both are involved.

In those messages, Benedetti threatened to report alleged irregularities in the financing of the campaign of Petrowho replied that she did not receive money from drug trafficking and that everything was done in accordance with the law.

A citizen today shows a poster against the Colombian Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa, during a demonstration in support of the social reforms of the Government of Gustavo Petro, in the streets of Bogotá (Colombia). EFE/Carlos Ortega

“we all sinkWe’re all finished, we’re going to jail”threatened, wrathful, Benedettidecisive for the triumph of Petro on the Atlantic coast in the 2022 elections.

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The labor centrals and trade unions Colombia will take to the streets of the main cities of the country this Wednesday to express their support for the health, labor and pension reforms presented by the Government and bogged down in Congress and in support of the president Gustavo Petro.

The president announced that he would attend the demonstrations in Bogota but his participation has not been confirmed at a time when he is facing a crisis due to the political storm unleashed by the former ambassador in Venezuela Armando Benedettiwho in some audios released by the press threatened to reveal information about the last presidential campaign.

In Bogota there will be several concentration points but the main one will be in the National Parkfrom where the march is expected to go to the Bolivar plaza.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro (C) attends a rally in support of his social reforms in Bogotá on June 7, 2023. (Photo by Daniel Muñoz / AFP) (DANIEL MUNOZ/)

the former senator Gustavo Bolivarof the official Historical Pactconsidered that the demonstrations are an opportunity to reaffirm the proposals for change and support the head of state.

“Something wonderful happened yesterday. The attacks on Petro have brought the country that wants change closer together. Even the dissatisfied because things are not going as fast as we would like, closed ranks to defend a victory that if we fail, we will not see again for decades“, wrote Bolivar on his Twitter account.

Demonstrations are called by the Unitary Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CUT), the Confederation of Colombian Workers (CTC) and the Colombian Federation of Education Workers (Fecode).

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PRESSURE ON CONGRESS

Fecode said on social networks that they will support the fight “for the social transformation of the country” and to “strengthen the social rule of law and democracy”.

“We call the promptness of the salary increase of the state workers in the face of inflation and the lack of the cost of living due to the lags of the bad management of the previous Government that today we citizens still feel in our homes and pockets”says Fecode in a statement.

For his part, the president of the CUT, Francisco Malteseassured that the objective of the march is to confront what he has described as “delaying strategies” to initiate the discussion of the labor reform in the Congress; especially by parties that have distanced themselves from the coalition of Government.

Supporters of Colombian President Gustavo Petro demonstrate in favor of his proposed social reforms in Bogotá on June 7, 2023. (Photo by Raul ARBOLEDA / AFP) (RAUL ARBOLEDA/)

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, David Racerannounced on Monday that “it freezes” the discussion of the reforms of the Petro Government due to the scandal caused by the audios of Benedetti.

Racero, which is part of the Historical Pactassured journalists that the discussions are halted until it can be “rebuild the government coalition”which had already lost the support of the U party and the conservatives in recent weeks.

However, in the Minister council held on Monday night at the Narino PalacePetro ordered his Cabinet to accelerate the execution of more than 500 works projects in the regions and to advance with the health, pension and labor reforms in the Congressas reported today by the Minister of the Interior, Luis Fernando Velasco.

Source: Elcomercio