Senator Ariel Ávila, of the Green Alliance, assured that President Gustavo Petro’s political capital in Congress was wasted in less than eight months in power, for which reason it will be difficult to approve all the social reforms that the Government is promoting
In dialogue with EL COLOMBIANO, Ávila called Roy Barreras and Alfonso Prada “cowards” for throwing the dirty water of the sunken political reform on him and stated that the Green Alliance is divided between Petrista congressmen and others from the center.
How do you assess the progress of total peace in Congress?
“The public order law was approved, which the Constitutional Court will surely give its approval. The only thing that remains to be approved is the submission law, which is framed within the expected parameters. There is ordinary justice, it does not bring new judges, nor new procedures, nor new courts. I think there is going to be an intense debate, obviously, but I think that in the end it will be approved”.
And what assessment do you make of total peace in practice?
“In terms of rapprochement and negotiations, I believe that mistakes have been made by the Government. Announcing bilateral ceasefires without having protocols was a very bad deal for President Gustavo Petro and I think the big problem is that the offer of the carrot (peace) is more or less clear, but what is not clear is the offer of the stick.” .
Are you referring to security flaws?
“Yeah. There is a delicate problem and that the Government is not clear about its security policy, and not only rural security, which is that of these illegal organizations, but also urban security. There is a lot of confusion among the population and that leads to these security problems both in cities and in rural areas that the country currently faces.”
How do you think this matter can be improved?
“The guidelines are needed and until they are clear, it is not going to work. At the urban level, the surveillance plan must be re-evaluated by quadrants, and at the rural level, the new modalities in which crime operates must be determined. With clear guidelines it will be easier for the Military Forces to understand their work”.
There is a lag in crop eradication and cocaine production is skyrocketing. What reading do you make of that situation?
“The issue of drug trafficking is not going to improve quickly or substantially in these four years. There are determining external factors because as long as there is a revalued dollar and demand continues to increase in the north of the continent and in Europe, that situation will not change. The anti-drug policy must be aimed at reducing the number of families that depend on drug trafficking. That is possible, but it is not possible to think that we will destroy even the last coca plant”.
Returning to politics, what atmosphere do you see in Congress after almost 8 months from the beginning of the Government of Gustavo Petro?
“The first semester was a semester of a president with political capital. A semester in which Congress generally approves reforms to new presidents and in which the Government was clear about the reforms it would present. This second semester the president’s political capital began to wear out, courtesy ended and the real bid began. The Government has 35 reforms and there is no clarity in its priorities. These things are added to the fact that today there is great confusion in Congress and that is leading to the government coalition being re-evaluated, especially in view of the regional elections.
Do you think that this adverse political scenario could prevent the reforms from being approved?
“Clear. Faced with all the reforms, a negotiation and concertation with the traditional political forces must begin, the alternative bloc will not be able to pass them by itself because the majorities do not give, it is simple. What we call the progressive block has 40 senators out of 108, which means that although we are the largest sector, we are not even half.
The Government insists on calling demonstrations, which some read as pressure. Do you think that influenced the tensions between the Government and Congress?
“There have been pressures of all kinds, from the government, the opposition and the business community. But that way of getting people out into the streets if the reforms do not receive support is to play with democracy. What must be recommended to the president is that he take into account what the balance of power is and that he begin to agree on the reforms. There is a reformism, which will not be as big as he wanted, but there is no more.
What should the concertation you speak of be like?
“Generally, governments present a proposal and this is agreed upon in Congress, that’s how it should be. That is the complete opposite of what is happening with the health reform, the government filed it but it is known that this is not the reform that is going to happen. The reform is arranged in the debates, but what is the Congress for?
In other words, do you not agree that the Government agree on the reform in advance?
“No. What they call agreement prior to Congress seems to me an invention that has arisen in Colombia somewhat absurd, that’s ridiculous. The concertation has to take place in the debates in Congress”.
But with a divided coalition then how to achieve it?
“Therein lies the challenge. Due to the way in which the health reform happened and due to the debates that have taken place in recent months, the government coalition is broken, it must be rebuilt. Today there is no clear government coalition. What there are are some parties that declared themselves in government, but inside each party is on its own. That is what the Government should think about rebuilding this Holy Week and Easter.
How did you end up after they poured you the dirty water of the sunken political reform?
“The president of Congress, Roy Barreras, and the Minister of the Interior, Alfonso Prada, were very cowardly. They used my name when I was out of the country. They made me see myself as responsible for the monkeys, which was not true and obviously a series of opponents echoed that.”
And how was your relationship with the other members of the Green Alliance?
“The Green Alliance is a party of people who do not necessarily behave as a body because there are normal individualities. Added to this is the internal division that exists between the Petrista sector where congressmen like Inti Asprilla, Katherine Miranda and Santiago Osorio are, and the more central sector in which the rest of us are”.
Does that mean that today the party is divided in two?
“Yeah. They are two sectors that are in constant dispute and that is also seen from the outside. Here there may be individualities because this is not the Partido de la U, the Partido Liberal or the Conservative. There is a division, but the situation of the game is not serious, I think that from the outside they see it as complicated, but nobody is thinking of leaving or asking for a split ”.
Are you still in the bid to aspire to the presidency of the Senate?
“Yeah. At this moment, Inti Asprilla, Angélica Lozano and I are competing for that position. Suddenly a room comes out, it is possible that it will come out”.