The President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro, defended once more tooth and nail the Minister of Mines, Irene Vélez, who is going through a bad time in the cabinet of the government of the President of the Historical Pact, with a series of false starts that have led to strong criticism that has been recorded on social networks.
Petro, through a thread in which he published several messages, warned regarding an alleged strategy of destruction once morest Minister Vélez, by insisting that the official is capable of developing the activities required by the Mines and Energy portfolio.
In addition, in the messages, the head of state indicated that some sectors are diverting attention to false starts, ignoring relevant information that Irene Vélez has expressed in different scenarios, such as the plan to reduce energy rates.
In one of the trills, President Petro pointed out: “First they made fun of the decrease. It turned out that it is an academic theory discussed throughout the world and key in the energy mining sector. After the mathematical lapse, it turned out that the minister showed a fundamental fact for fiscal stability. The gasoline subsidy.
“Then, what I read in Congress unaware of the fifth law and it turns out, but they hid it, that the minister explained to Congress the elements to change the formula for charging electricity rates,” the Colombian president published in another trill.
He also pointed out: “In the desire to mock, and to destroy a capable and honest minister, who does not agree with the co-optation of the ministry by private interests, they are hiding true and great information that citizens have the right to know, since it is regarding public affairs”.
And in another message he made it clear: “I already experienced this situation in the Mayor’s Office when I changed the toilet model. I have the impression that the protagonists themselves do not want a minister independent of their interests: those who today extract rents from users of the electricity sector”.
More criticism of the minister
The government of President Gustavo Petro is going through challenging times due to what has been said regarding the increase in the price of gasoline. Additionally, the suitability of one of its officials has been questioned from various sectors. It is, precisely, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Irene Vélez.
A few days ago, the minister unleashed a controversy following she gave an astronomical and erroneous figure regarding the deficit of the Fuel Price Stabilization Fund (Fepc). According to the official, when she attended to journalists, the value reached “10,000 billion pesos.”
However, and following the first criticism began to arrive, Minister Vélez clarified that it was a mistake. In this sense, he specified that “The real figure pending payment for the second quarter of 2022 amounts to 10.49 trillion.”
In another trill, the official explained the joint work with the Ministry of Finance to “evaluate the best solution.” “Now, the preliminary settlement data for the second quarter 2022 + July and August 2022 is around 15.9 billion, debt currently accumulated by the FEPC. This is why, as I explained, we set up a technical table with @MinHacienda to evaluate the best solution.”.
But the debate regarding the future of the price of gasoline in Colombia is still open. In this regard, the former presidential candidate Federico Gutiérrez spoke through his Twitter account and launched a forceful dart at the Petro government.
“The increase in the price of gasoline will have a negative impact on the daily life of all citizens. The price of food will increase and aggravate the crisis that already exists due to inflation,” said Fico Gutiérrez. “Petro government improvises without understanding the serious negative effects on many issues”he claimed.
The Minister of Mines and Energy was also not spared from Federico Gutiérrez’s onslaught, since her continuous “muddy” continues to give something to talk regarding. In fact, on Monday, September 12, Irene Vélez was summoned by Commission V of the Senate of the Republic to explain the measures being taken in response to the increase in energy rates in the country, especially in the departments of the Caribbean coast.
Finally, there was a fact that transpired and went viral on social networks: they caught his attention for reading. “You have to be careful not to give the impression of reading. It is prohibited by Law 5 (of 1992)”Senator Inti Asprilla noted when he interrupted the reading by Minister Irene Vélez.
