Reactions to the proposal to declare the pension reform unenforceable

After Judge Jorge Enrique Ibáñez, author of the constitutionality presentation, proposed declaring the Petro government’s pension reform unenforceable, considering that the procedural defect that led to its return to Congress was not corrected, there are several reactions that have been unleashed in the Legislature and even in the Government.

On the one hand, the Minister of Labor, Antonio Sanguino, described the magistrate as “brazen and mean”, in his official X account, where he stated that: “Nothing to be surprised about! If a “magistrate” is capable of denying a child and the rights that derive from it, How can you not deny older adults, especially the poorest, the right to an old age in dignity? Ibáñez, petty and shameless!“.

See more: Presentation by Judge Jorge Ibáñez proposes declaring the pension reform unenforceable

In turn, the Minister of the Interior, Armando Benedetti, indicated through a video that the action of Judge Ibáñez (opposition leader) is only “to harm President Gustavo Petro“.

And he indicated that what the man says that the pension was not corrected in the House of Representatives is a lie: “Gregorio Eljach, today Attorney General of the Nation, who spent more than a decade as Secretary of the Senate, says that it was corrected, according to the Fifth Law“.

On the other hand, Senator Marta Peralta, of the Historical Pact, expressed her rejection and disagreement with Ibáñez’s proposal, in her X account, where she stated that: “As speaker coordinator of the #PensionReform, I totally reject Judge Ibáñez’s negative presentation. To retirees, young workers and those who today dream of a dignified retirement, I call on the streets“.

See more: Three points that would define the increase in the minimum wage in Colombia for 2026

The congresswoman also added that the presentation seeks to extend the lack of protection of the State: “Let’s tell him NO! to whom They seek to perpetuate the state of lack of protection and inequality that today afflicts millions of old men and women. No more!“

Furthermore, for Peralta, Ibáñez’s proposal is “profoundly regressive: 1. It does not guarantee universal coverage or eliminate structural gaps that exclude informal workers, housewives, and low-income people. or with intermittent races. 2. It does not correct the current profound inequalities between the regimes, nor does it establish a real minimum floor of social protection for those who need it most.“.

See more: Government redefines the operation of the EPS under the preventive health model

As a next point, Senator Wayúu said that said presentation “3. It maintains unjustifiable privileges for certain sectors and perpetuates schemes that magnify gender, regional and employment status gaps. 4. It lacks a long-term strategic vision, by not proposing sustainable and progressive mechanisms that respond to population aging. We cannot give in to superficial reforms disguised as progress. We will not go back to the past“.

Former senator Carlos Felipe Mejía assured that if said reform is declared unenforceable, “the savings of Colombians that Petro intended to squander in this election year would be saved“.

While Senator Paloma Valencia indicated that: “The pension reform is not only unconstitutionalbut it mortgages the future of our children and the future of Colombia…. It is not acceptable”.

In turn, the representative to the Chamber Santiago Osorio, stated that: “When a magistrate decides that form is worth more than hunger, he does not administer justice: he administers inequality. If the Court overturns the pension reform, more than three million elderly people will remain in extreme poverty. This is not justice: it is cruelty with a signature and seal“.

VALENTINA DELGADILLO ABELLO
Portfolio Journalist