the cThe creation of the Ministry of Equality and Equity passed its first test in the Congress of the Republic. This Monday the first committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives approved the first debates on this bill.
This initiative, which is one of the banners of the government of President Gustavo Petro and Vice President Francia Márquez, seeks work for the elimination of economic, political and social inequalities. Now, the project will be discussed by the plenary sessions of the Senate and Chamber and must overcome these debates to become law.
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The debate began on Thursday of the previous week, but was left for this Monday after the session, which was full of controversy and there were harsh clashes between the ruling party and the opposition, It was adjourned due to lack of a quorum.
The initiative that seeks to have 19 ministries in the country has been strongly criticized by the opposition, but there are also doubts of some members of the government bench, as well as the independent sectorss. They point out that behind this new portfolio there is “bureaucracy”.
One of the main doubts during the discussion was about the fiscal cost that the creation of the new portfolio will imply for the State. One of the congressmen who brought this issue to the session was Carlos Fernando Motoa, from Cambio Radical.
The senator complained to the Government, as well as to the speakers, who do not know the concept of the Ministry of Finance. On this point, the senator speaker, Alexander López, explained that this concept will be known this week.
“I would like you to explain to me why, with the years of validity of the Political Charter, which has clear concepts on material, formal Equality and non-discrimination, now the Colombian State will comply with the principle of equality by simply creating a Ministry . Is creating a Law of the Republic to increase bureaucracy in the country, is it going to give per se compliance, hitherto unknown, of this constitutional principle? I don’t think it’s reason enough to approve this project”, commented Senator Motoa. In addition, he called for functions not to be duplicated.
Maya assured the members of the first commissions that article 13 of the Political Constitution (the one that says that “all people are born free and equal before the law”) has been fulfilled very little in the country for this reason, with the construction of the Ministry of Equality seeks to grant the Colombian people a policy that combats inequality”.
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Who also expressed doubts was the liberal senator Alejandro Carlos Chacón, who questioned that in this law sPresident Gustavo Petro will be given extraordinary powers for six months to make decisions related to the strengthening of the ministry.
“Congress must know which are the entities that are going to merge since by handing over powers, the Legislature loses its main and essential function, one of which is the creation of personnel plants“, he asserted and added that National Planning should pass to the future Ministry of Equality.
The representative José Jaime Uscátegui of the Democratic Center expressed the same opinion, who asked to “pay close attention to the powers given to the President to create the equality sector, I ask that you take the task of exactly reviewing the issue every time the Constitution establishes the requirements for them.
But Maya clarified that these faculties have already been given in the past and said that Those same powers were given to former President Iván Duque when the Ministry of Sports was created.
The functions that the Ministry of Equality would have, if it became law
1. Formulate, adopt, direct, coordinate, execute and articulate the policies, plans, programs, strategies, projects and measures for the fulfillment of the object of the Ministry and scope of competences.
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2. Adopt and execute plans, programs, strategies and projects to define, manage and focus the social offer of the entities of the National Order in the territory, with criteria of efficiency and effectiveness, prioritizing historically excluded territories and populations.
3. Coordinate and articulate with national, departmental, district and municipal entities the intervention of population groups, within the scope of their powers.
4. Promote tools for citizen participation and organization to strengthen the incidence of population groups and subjects of special constitutional protection in public policy agendas, self-government processes and ethnic territorial rights of ethnic peoples, in coordination with other competent entities.
5. Promote social innovation through the identification and implementation of private and local initiatives, among others, to implement equality and equity policies with an intersectional approach in state action and promote conditions of political, economic and social equality through all targeted vulnerable populations.
6. Direct and guide the planning of the Administrative Sector of Equality and Equity for the fulfillment of the functions under its charge.
7. Manage and generate alliances with actors from the public and private sectors, civil society organizations, authorities and organizational forms of ethnic peoples, international organizations and other governments that facilitate and promote policies and the achievement of the objectives of the Administrative Sector of Equality and Equity and of the international commitments assumed by the State, in coordination with the other competent state entities. Likewise, it will be managed in coordination and articulation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, alliances with international organizations and other governments while monitoring the international commitments assumed by the State.
8. Establish follow-up, monitoring and evaluation schemes for the execution of the policies, plans, projects and social offer of competence of the Equality and Equity Sector, in coordination with other competent entities, and render accounts to the citizenry. For this purpose, participatory mechanisms of social control will be promoted and adopted.
9. Direct, coordinate, monitor and evaluate the systems and instances of advice, coordination and articulation related to their powers created or created by law and that so indicate.
10. Generate information that makes it possible to make visible the characteristics, contexts, and living conditions that prevent people from overcoming inequity and inequality, for the development of public policies that guarantee the closing of gaps, progress in overcoming inequality, and the inclusion and visibility of actions for equality and equity in the public agendas of the national, departmental, district and municipal order.
11. Direct, coordinate, guide, monitor and evaluate the National Care System.
12. Other tasks assigned by Law.
MATTHEW GARCIA
TIME
