Daniel Quintero made the wooden box of Plaza Mayor available to the Historical Pact for two days, for the meeting of its elected congressmen in which they detailed the process of the profound reforms that it promises to make Gustavo Petro from August 7 and in a matter of a year.
Precisely, it was the Mayor’s Office of Medellin that facilitated the loan of that space – which is public-private – for the political meeting, under the pretext that it was a relationship event for the city.
Moreover, EL COLOMBIANO learned that the mayor does not rule out establishing more spaces for conversation with other political groups under the same format that he followed with the historic pact, for which Medellín was listed as the host of that coalition.
The involvement of the office Quintero in the so-called “spiritual retreat” was evident throughout the event. The appointment was produced by the operators of that venue and the mayor was in charge of giving a speech of almost half an hour to start the debate, just following the opening words of Senator Roy Barreras.
During his speech, Quintero showed memes of Juan Camilo Restrepo, who replaced him in that office at the time of his suspension for political participation. Even until lunchtime, the congressmen were received by the mayor’s chief of protocol.
The mayor of Medellín greeted the Senator Piedad Cordoba, who attended despite the fact that the president-elect had asked him to step aside while his judicial situation is resolved. In any case, when Córdoba entered the venue, Barreras gave her a greeting at the microphone, which drew the attention of the plenary to her.
The first day of the programmatic retreat left an incomplete portrait of the bench and the government team, due to the absence of three of the elected senators –Gustavo Bolivar, Alexander Lopez and Maria Jose Pizarro– and three of the designated ministers –José Antonio Ocampo, Carolina Corcho and Alejandro Gaviria–. The latter, however, was connected virtually, and the other two will intervene this Tuesday.
The empty seats of the congressmen revealed the fissures that remained among the militants for the definition of the Presidency of the Senate for which Petro gave the “yes” to Barriers.
This, for example, did not excuse Bolívar’s absence by pointing out that he was invited. However, Bolívar’s team clarified that the senator will be traveling to the United States until Tuesday, July 19. That is to say, he is going to travel one day before the inauguration of the new Congress.
It is not superfluous to point out that the president-elect did not participate in the meeting either because he will continue on vacation in Europe until this Friday, July 16. Meanwhile, despite the announcement that the vice president, Francia Márquez, would land at the Plaza Mayor, she did not arrive either due to a problem with the international connection (Canada) of her flight.
Although far away, Petro maintained his communication with the team and will connect virtually to the continuation of the meeting that will take place this Tuesday.
The programmatic meeting of the Pact brought together 19 senators and 27 representatives to the Chamber, in addition to those who will make up their legislative work units, for a rally of more than 120 people, among whom it is already clear who the leaders are.
the of Roy Barreraswho is emerging as the next president of the Senate, that of former senator Mauricio Lizcanothat of the joint coordinator Daniel Rojas and another of the files of that team, Alfonso Prada, who sounds like the Minister of the Interior.
Among the entire package of reforms that will promote the Historical Pact, at the meeting it was decided that the tax reform will be the first to be processed and the fundamental axis of the entire government program.
In addition to the new tax regime to increase State collection by 50 billion pesos, the second line that this team will prioritize will be comprehensive rural reform, an issue in which once once more the appointed Minister of Agriculture, Cecilia López, clarified that she would not there will be expropriations and that the vacant lots will not be touched either.
To seal these projects it is necessary to negotiate votes and Barreras confirmed that the Government will have the support of the Green Alliance, of those who made up the list of the Hope Center Coalition, the ASI, the Commons Party, the Conservative, The U and the Liberal.
From Medellín, the president-elect’s team announced to Luis Carlos Reyes as the next director of the DIAN. Although the names of those who will occupy key ministries such as Defense, Justice and the Interior have yet to be made official, this newspaper learned that no more appointments for the portfolios are planned to be decreed until July 20.
