President Gustavo Petro spoke again about his cabinet after firing education ministers Alejandro Gaviria; Culture, Patricia Ariza; and Sport, María Isabel Urrutia, on Monday, February 27.
The president referred via his Twitter account to the requirements that are essential to him that the heads of all ministries must meet.
“I demand from my ministers and ministers only loyalty to the government program, zero corruption and results,” he wrote on the social network on Wednesday morning.
It is growing in political circles that in the House of Nariño there is serious discomfort with the former minister María Isabel Urrutia for the signing of a $ 4,950 million pesos contract processed by direct contracts with the Public Alliance for Development (Aldesarrollo) on the matter from the national validation and admission process to the stadiums.
And it is that, as revealed by the magazine Cambio, the ex-minister did not take into account the concept of the officials who opposed her.
According to the report, Decree 1622 of August 5, 2022 delegated to the Ministry of Sports to establish security mechanisms for the healthy coexistence of the stadiums, however, they warn that the contracted entity will not install a biometric system, but will only tell Mindeport how it must.
The name of Jorge Hernán Colmenares, then Director of Inspection, Supervision and Control of the Ministry of Sports, appears in the document as the person responsible for the said investigations, “but he did not sign it because he never agreed with that process.” marked the magazine. .
Message about Gaviria?
The head of state’s trill aroused further suspicion about the reasons that led him to switch ministers. And it is that experts and political leaders have explained in dialogue with EL HERALDO that the departure of Alejandro Gaviria would be associated with a sense of betrayal within the Casa de Nariño, caused by the leaking of a letter of strong objections from officials to the health services . reform led by Carolina Corcho.
“In a government there are spaces to disagree, but to a point. Then it is very difficult to process those differences in an environment of leaks (…) I think that the publication of that letter has a lot to do with the departure of former minister Alejandro Gaviria,” said the professor of Political Science at the Universidad del Rosario, Yann Basset.
Senator Clara López also pointed out that Gaviria’s lack of “loyalty” caused the ministerial crisis.
“I don’t think the former minister left because of his differences with the president, but because of the leaking of the documents. Loyalty and confidentiality must be maintained in the Council of Ministers. The councils of ministers are confidential,” he said.
Regarding this fact, Alejandro Gaviria explained that he had a meeting with the president after his departure and that there was no mention of the leak of the letter in that conversation. “During the presidency, they never accused me of leaking it. I’ve talked to the president and he never mentioned this issue,” he said.
The president’s stance caused some discomfort among political sectors of the opposition who accused the head of state of restrictive criticism.
“The ministers’ loyalty must always be with Colombia and the Colombians. That would be my motto and it should be of all presidents,” emphasized the senator of the Democratic Center Paloma Valencia.
Political analyst José Miguel Santamaría, in turn, pointed out that the head of state is confusing loyalty with servility.
“Isn’t your mouth full when you talk about democracy and inclusion? In practice, no one who contradicts him on technical grounds is acceptable to his destructive whims,” said the analyst, a member of the Salvación Nacional political party.
Representative María Fernanda Carrascal pointed out that: “Anyone can have their position, but being a minister means representing and implementing a program chosen at the polls. There should always be differences and dissent, internal debates, but always with a common voice and purpose”.
Source: El Heraldo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
