The outgoing and elected presidents of Colombia, Iván Duque and Gustavo Petro, respectively, had a first meeting this Thursday to channel the transfer of command, which after this first formal talk will begin in a concrete way this Friday with an exchange between the designated teams .
The meeting at the Palacio de Nariño it had all the condiments of what an orderly transition is supposed to have: kind statements before, official photo after words of occasion on social networks and promises of absolute predisposition from both sides.
The Presidency released the official photo, of both alone, Duke in a suit and Petro without a tie, with the tricolor flag in the background, and another with both walking.
We met #At this time in the House of Nariño, with @petrogustavoa meeting in which we discussed the start of the splicing process that we will carry out in a harmonious, institutional and transparent manner. pic.twitter.com/P22juxdocd
– Ivan Duke ?? (@IvanDuque) June 23, 2022
“We talked about the start of the splicing process that we will carry out in a harmonious, institutional and transparent manner,” Duque wrote. to accompany the images on the Twitter network.
The meeting attracted the attention of the press and the local ruling class not only because of its institutional weight, but also because it is about two politicians at the opposite end of the line of thought and with almost permanent crosses and attacks.
Petro left Nariño without making statements and Duque limited himself to the tweet, at least initially, so the content of the conversation is unknown.
Just half an hour before the meeting, Petro wrote a message in his account that questioned Duque’s decision to buy planes: “Any plane that is bought for public institutions in these weeks is sold again. I ask President Duque to suspend these purchases.”
The issue feeds the cross between the two due to the eventual purchase of ships scheduled by the Duque government, which this Thursday defended these operations.
“We are not buying luxury aircraft, we are not buying military equipment that corresponds to last-minute decisions or windstorms,” he said.
First there were the versions that Bogotá would buy the presidential plane that Ecuador wants to sell and then a possible operation for six machines for the Air Force.
Beyond the talk between the outgoing and incoming president, it is expected that this Friday the meetings between the teams that both designated for the transition will begin.
The elected president arrived at the meeting strengthened not only by his victory at the polls, but also because in the last 24 hours he achieved the support of the Green and Liberal parties, a rapprochement with the Partido de la U and it was confirmed that Roy Barreras – a senator close to him – will be head of the Senate and, therefore, of Congress.
Barreras was Petro’s debate chief during the campaign and already held the leadership of the upper house when he was part of the U Party, during the presidency of Juan Manuel Santos.
“My responsibility will be to carry out from Congress the profound social reforms that the people voted for by electing Petro,” Barreras told Télamminutes after being elected, although the officialization in the venue is missing, when the new composition assumes.
From this moment I am at the service of building parliamentary majorities. Our priority will be to work for peace, social and environmental justice, fundamental axes of the government of @petrogustavo The government of change! pic.twitter.com/UocwcOeEx6
— Roy Barreras (@RoyBarreras) June 23, 2022
Later, on the Twitter network, Barreras declared himself “at the service of the construction of parliamentary majorities.” “Our priority will be to work for peace, social and environmental justice, fundamental axes of the government of Gustavo Petro. The government of change!”, he expanded.
As for the Liberal support, former President César Gaviria reported that in a talk with Petro, the force congratulated him on the victory and advanced “the intention” of the Liberal Party “to form the Congress coalition.”
In a statement, he also stressed that this “will allow the president-elect to overcome a political hurdle and demonstrate that he will have a coalition in his favor that enables him to exercise his status as the winning party in the presidential election, in addition to having the position of president of the Senate, essential to implement his government plan”.
Gaviria, president between 1990 and 1994, clarified that before “an eventual participation in the government coalition”, the Liberals are waiting to know what their role will be in the new cabinet, which will allow them to make a decision on how to collaborate with Petro.
With this support (14 seats in the Senate and 32 in the House of Representatives), plus the already confirmed Greens and Commons, Petro would be one step away from achieving the 55 seats needed to have a majority in the Senate, as well as of the 94 required for the House of Representatives, Europa Press reviewed.
In addition, talks are being held with the Partido de la U –former president Juan Manuel Santos- to add him to a possible legislative alliance.
According to Colombian legislation, the political groups present in Congress have one month from the inauguration of the new president to declare their position for the next four years.
Well before the face-to-face meeting between the two, Duque had stated that he was waiting for high-level talks with the incoming administration, to which he would deliver all the information about what had been done in four years of administration.
“A process of transition, of splicing, begins; we want it to be an institutional, transparent, harmonious, peaceful process, and that allows all information to be shared, the development of public policies, in such a way that the next government can start with total clarity. in favor of the Colombian people,” said Duque to the media.
On the day, Petro and the vice-elect, Francia Márquez, were officially declared winners of the second round by the National Electoral Council (CNE), and received their respective credentials.
In that act, Petro insisted on the need for “a great national agreement, a fundamental task”, explained that for this reason he “symbolically” invited Rodolfo Hernández and Álvaro Uribe “to talk about the country” and celebrated the role of youth in the last elections.
“They appeared, they emerged. There were a million more young people participating, and that changed history. “This government is due to everyone, but fundamentally to that first youth,” he stressed.
Márquez, meanwhile, allowed himself a dance rehearsal to the beat of drums that reached the venue and raised his fist several times to greet his followers.
The president-elect was this Thursday, in addition, with the mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, in a meeting that marked an approach after cross statements between the two.
“He counts on me and I count on him to carry out the social, economic and environmental change programs that we Bogota and Colombians support,” López wrote, along with a photo next to Petro.
The elected head of the Palacio de Nariño also said that he had a “pleasant conversation” with the head of Foreign Affairs of the European Union, Josep Borell, although he did not provide details of that talk.
