2023-09-30 23:48:45
In the midst of a tense political context in which press freedom is at risk, former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt has emerged as a prominent voice on social networks, especially on X, to address President Gustavo Petro’s recent statements following the attack from the indigenous minga to the SEMANA building.
President Petro’s message addressed the former presidential candidate, touched on thorny issues related to racism and mobilization, pointing out that the extreme right tends to brand indigenous people as “sheep and rapists,” and established a comparison with the rhetoric used against the Jews in Europe before World War II. In his message, the president also mentioned Jorge Eliécer Gaitán.
Betancourt’s response to Petro was precise and blunt. He stated that the central issue is not racism, which he condemned bluntly without leaving room for any discussion.
“President: do not distort the facts. What is at stake is not racism, it is always reprehensible and there is no discussion,” he said.
Instead, his reply focused on the mobilization supposedly financed by decree to intimidate journalists who do not agree with the current Government. Furthermore, Betancourt emphasized that President Petro can be compared to Jorge Eliécer Gaitán and that the indigenous mingas are not being persecuted.
“What is at stake is not racism, which is always reprehensible and there is no discussion, but the mobilization paid for by decree to intimidate journalists who do not pay tribute to him. You are not Gaitán, nor are today’s mingas persecuted,” he added.
The former presidential candidate also highlighted the prevailing need to respect cultural diversity and the right to free expression of all citizens, which includes the peaceful mobilization of the population. Likewise, she mentioned a previous incident in which internet access was cut off in Cali during a social outbreak, pointing to it as an example of censorship.
Betancourt concluded his response by urging mutual respect as a fundamental condition for achieving peace and reconciliation in Colombia. These new attacks by the head of state on the media and which directly implicate SEMANA took place after some indigenous people who participated in the September 27 marches, called by the Government, violently entered the media building.
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