The senator of the Historical Pact, Roy Barreras was elected in the plenary session of the Senate as the new president of the Congress of the Republic, after receiving the majority support of all the political benches.
Barreras, who obtained 92 votes in favor, 11 blank and two nulls, will be in charge of leading the process of the legislative agenda of the Government of Gustavo Petro.
There will be several projects that will be promoted, especially in the first legislative year that started this July 20especially the tax reform, which will be a priority to collect the resources needed to finance social programs.
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In the inkwell will also be the comprehensive rural reform, anti-corruption political reform, normative adjustments to guarantee complete peace, creation of the Ministry of Peace, Security and Coexistence and the Ministry of Equality, among others.
In addition, it is expected that in the second legislative period the health reform, education reform, labor reform and pension reform, for which the paper and Roy Barreras’ experience will be fundamental.
“The popular mandate for change is not a simple speech; the popular mandate for change must become a palpable reality for millions of Colombians and that reality is the reforms; hence the relevance that this Congress that has been installed today will have, which will be recognized as the Congress that guarantees change”, he said in his speech.
Barreras assured that the bench of the Historical Pact and the entire government coalition in Congress must deliver results to move the country forward.
“We must be a Guarantee of results, so that the popular mandate for change, change for which more than 11 million Colombians voted, be a reality in the laws that will respond to the legitimate claims of citizens, reflected in the great reforms that will be of general benefit”, he added.
He further said that will offer guarantees to the opposition and to the millions of Colombians who did not support Gustavo Petro’s proposal at the polls.
“We must be Guarantee of stability, to speak to those two Colombias: the one that won with us demanding profound changes and the one who didn’t vote with us out of fear. Now, we have a duty to alleviate it calling to build a single homeland”, Indian.
To carry out the initiatives, Barreras asked the Petro government to speed up the presentation of the entire legislative agenda. “It is important that the government, in the very fluid relationship that we will have, has the speed, the historical vision and the indispensable articulation between the two powers, to be able to satisfy the urgent expectations of the citizens,” he said.
He insisted: “I invite the Government to that they present the reforms on August 7, not in September, not in November, Ministers, have the reforms ready”.
In addition, he spoke of peace and said that the violent will have an opportunity thanks to the initiatives that will be processed in the Congress of the Republic, but he made a forceful call to them. “Put down your weapons, all weapons. They are Colombians, they are also brothers born in this country, let’s stop killing ourselves,” he noted.
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In the First Vice Presidency of the Senate was elected Miguel Ángel Pinto, of the Liberal Party and in the Second Vice Presidency they named Honorio Enríquez, of the Democratic Center.
Gregorio Eljach was re-elected as Secretary General of the Senate and Saúl Cruz returns to repeat as Undersecretary General of the same corporation.
