Cambio Radical, the party led by former vice president Germán Vargas Lleras, does not miss the moment to question the decisions of the government of Gustavo Petro. Although at the start of the new administration the community declared itself independent, judging by its positions on the official Twitter account, it seems to be in opposition.
This Wednesday, December 14, the political house launched itself once morest the President’s decree that will allow the release of front-line leaders who, from now on, might advance peace efforts. This group was the one that generated panic in some cities of the country, such as Bogotá, Cali, Medellín, Popayán, Neiva, among others, during the 2021 National Strike.
“Petro hurts and it’s not enough for him”reads the official Twitter account of Cambio Radical.
“When he was mayor of Bogotá, He paid 10,000 gang members to stop stealing, but contrary to what he says, insecurity in the capital has not decreased,” added the political party.
Now —added Cambio Radical— “he wants to give one million pesos a month to 100,000 young ‘peace managers’ to set up their collectives like Venezuela”.
Although the party has been critical of Petro, He had never made a statement of the caliber of what he wrote this Wednesday on his Twitter account.
The controversial text was accompanied by a video where Gustavo Petro, when he was mayor of Bogotá, is seen talking regarding his Youth in Peace program.
“We recruited 10,000 gang members in Bogotá, it was not easy, the State had no way of having them, we did it. We made a calculation of how much they earned by stealing and we gave it to them in exchange for studying, social work. How much do we spend on that? 10,000 million pesos for 10,000. And what was the result in 2015? Cell phone theft was reduced by 33%,” Petro said in the interview she gave to journalist Claudia Palacios at the time.
Cambio Radical denied the figure of the then mayor because it showed the statistics of the Metropolitan Police of Bogotá, which confirmed that in 2014 9,886 cases of cell phone theft were reported and in 2015 another 11,180, that is, there was an increase of 33%.
The video released by the community also shows the moment in which the president, from the Casa de Nariño, made the announcement of the money that would be invested in the young peace managers. “That’s a bit of money, just calculate, that’s worth a bit of money, if we’re talking regarding a million a month, it’s 12 million a year for 100,000 young people, calculator, it’s worth 1.2 billion if my math doesn’t fail me.”
Cambio Radical has been exposing what they consider to be the inconsistencies of the government of Gustavo Petro, He has launched strong criticisms of the tax reform, the political reform and the pronouncements of the Minister of Mines and Energy, Irene Vélez.
The political party endorsed the failed motion of no confidence once morest the official and held her responsible for the skyrocketing price of the dollar that in the current government climbed the historical barrier of 5,000 pesos.
Last weekend, in his Sunday column in the newspaper Time, Germán Vargas Lleras went lance at the ready once morest the presidential proposal to release the front line: “(The president) will fulfill his commitment to this horde of criminals who contributed much to the subsequent success of his campaign,” said the political leader.