2024-04-16 22:36:27
During his time in Huila, the president of the Democratic Center party Gabriel Jaime Vallejo, brought a clear message of unity and strength for the Opita bases. He highlighted his concern about the security problems Huila has been facing and pointed out that he has gone backwards on the path to peace.
HUILA’S DIARY, POLITICS
By: María Camila Mosquera M.
After holding several meetings and encounters with the bases of the Democratic Center party in Huila, the president of this political party, Gabriel Jaime Vallejo, spoke with Diario del Huila about the concerns facing the party, as well as the acts of violence that are affecting to Huila.
What was the reason for your visit to the Opita capital?
The party at the head of the national leadership made the decision to begin a tour throughout the country. The first department we visited was Huila with three fundamental purposes, which were to meet with our bases, with our militancy, with our credentials to encourage them. We had the opportunity to tell them what the party is in at the moment and of course we were encouraging new political leaders and we analyzed possible pre-candidacies for the 2026 elections and we also prepared part of the conventions, because in the month of June we will have a municipal one for elect our management teams in each municipality of Colombia, departmental convention in the month of September and a national convention in November.
Currently, former President Álvaro Uribe is going through judicial processes, what can he say to the party’s bases?
This case is an enormous sadness, a deep regret for the president and his family. It fills our hearts and souls with pain in the face of a situation that, furthermore, I consider unfair. I describe it as the greatest political infamy in the recent history of the country. Regarding the call for trial, I have three reflections: firstly, it is a process full of procedural irregularities from the beginning. Secondly, there is not a single piece of evidence that condemns President Álvaro Uribe. The president has not influenced the issuance of a statement for or against, and I consider it extremely important that the Colombian people are clear about this; This process is absolutely absurd. Third, I call it the process of paradoxes; The FARC terrorists, militarily defeated by President Uribe, are today in the Congress of the Republic with total impunity, without even facing a judicial process. Likewise, those who were extradited by President Uribe, who were the paramilitaries; Today a criminal against humanity like Salvatore Mancuso has returned at the request of the national government. And the one who parades around the world with a Nobel, who is a political adversary of the president and the main person responsible for the Odebrecht corruption scandal in Colombia, faces absolutely no consequences. However, they do have President Uribe on the verge of prison, which I consider a great paradox.
For the Democratic Center, security is a pillar. How do you see the acts of violence that are being recorded in Huila?
That announcement by the narcoterrorist group ‘Iván Mordisco’ that they are going to create fronts in some departments of Colombia, including the department of Huila, is sad news that generates pain, that generates concern. The security indicators, just like in the country, are deteriorating, we are seeing the issue of extortion, it has become a scourge and behind extortion comes kidnapping and behind this come selective murders, we see that Huila is coming suffering from this situation of insecurity, which is very serious because it discourages investment, generates displacement and a number of serious problems. For the Democratic Center party, perhaps the most important democratic value of all is security, because without security we do not have freedom, we do not have life. We warn that the presence of the second Marquetalia, another terrorist group associated with the FARC, presence of the ELN, in short, the security situation in Huila is alarming and it seems that we are going back 25 years in which this department suffered violence like very few others. and the attack of terrorism in the late 90s.
How do you currently see the bases of the Democratic Center party in Huila?
In the last elections we managed to elect 14 councilors in Huila, we had the resignation of a councilor who came out of the opposition, currently we have 13 councilors, who assume the leadership of the party. We also have another important number of councilors in Neiva, let’s say that at a general level our structures, for different reasons, have been weakened from the point of view of the management teams, we have been having problems from 2029 to date.
How do you see the upcoming elections?
The party is immersed in a process of self-criticism, reviewing problems, difficulties and errors to regain the trust and affection of citizens. This process must be inclusive, covering all sectors: students, teachers, union members, workers, small and large business owners, farmers, among others. Secondly, it is crucial to identify new political leadership that will allow us to recover the lost space in 2026. We are not a party of the old political order. The presidential candidate we choose must have the necessary leadership to create bridges of unity with other political sectors that oppose Gustavo Petro’s government. We must build a common front to prevent the Petro project from remaining in power.