The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, once again generated controversy on social networks, after he announced through his X account (formerly Twitter) that the country will experience a new day of demonstrations, apparently promoted by the current Government .
Although the president did not provide details of when and in which cities these protests could take place, he assured that the main reason will be so that the decision of the citizens who elected him as president is respected.
“The government of change asks citizens to be prepared for general mobilization for decency and respect for the vote,” Petro said on his networks.
And the president indicated that the protests will also take place to reject some media headlines, in which it was indicated that the national government had denied its participation in the mobilizations of February 8, which ended with the siege of the facilities. of the Supreme Court of Justice, where the election of the new Attorney General of the Nation was being discussed.
“Some regional media says that we went from talking about the general mobilization of citizens to denying it. No, gentlemen,” she indicated. However, after the early days in Bogotá and which generated so much controversy due to the retention of the magistrates within the Supreme Court, the same Minister of the Interior, Luis Fernando Velasco, denied that the president had any connection with the call.
“The Colombian Federation of Educators autonomously proposed a mobilization. He had arguments and fears that the Government respects,” said the chief minister at the end of the first day of the Governors’ Summit, held in Cartagena de Indias.
In fact, Petro himself also made a publication in which he denied that he had participated in the call for the marches, which ended up being dissipated by members of the Dialogue and Maintenance of Order Unit (Undmo), due to the public order situation. that was experienced outside the high court.
“Today’s mobilization is not true that it was ordered by me, nor that it goes under pressure against the court to which I gave all my support and guarantee. If the interested groups desperately decide to break the institution, there will be a forceful and non-violent popular response. “It is the right of the people to fight for democracy and respect for their vote,” he said on February 8 in response to a tweet in which he assured that the demonstrations were an initiative of the Government to pressure the Court.
Petro assured that the February 8 marches were infiltrated
Given the tumult generated outside the Palace of Justice, where hundreds of protesters blocked the departure of the judges of the Supreme Court of Justice after failing to reach a consensus for the election of the new Attorney General of the Nation, the political panorama and social situation in the country has been tense.
In fact, President Gustavo Petro raised his voice on this matter, alleging a possible infiltration in the protests that apparently sought to sabotage both the day and the judicial facilities, according to a video released by the representative to the Chamber for Cauca, Jorge Bastidas.
“In my government, infiltrators are not allowed in marches with political objectives other than those of the protesters. These people sent to blockade the palace must be thoroughly investigated,” the president emphasized in a statement that has sparked various reactions in the country’s public and political sphere.
The leader of the nation was supported by audiovisual material where some protesters are seen defending entry to the judicial palace from attacks by third parties, which supports the president’s theory about infiltration.
In turn, the Minister of Justice, Néstor Osuna, asked for calm and respect for the decisions of the Supreme Court, which plans to meet again on February 22 to deliberate on the choice of the new prosecutor. This position aligns with the call to guarantee the free mobility of magistrates, as President Petro claimed to have ordered to dissipate the blockade without requiring violent evictions.
These actions and comments come at a time when political polarization appears to be intensifying, with criticism even of making undue parallels with historical events such as the takeover and retaking of the Palace of Justice in 1985.
Petro was categorical in rejecting comparisons made by opponents, such as Senator María Fernanda Cabal of the Democratic Center, that the demonstration sought to replicate historical acts of violence. “They want a violent journalistic story to assimilate free citizen expression for decency to the events of 1985 to illegitimate them,” articulated the president, defending the peaceful nature that, according to his vision, the protests should have and criticizing the attempts to manipulate the story. public.
However, so far, there is a lack of concrete evidence or an official statement from the director of the National Police, General William René Salamanca, in relation to the aforementioned infiltration allegations. With Infobae
