2024-09-14 21:28:31
In a speech during the National Meeting of Alternative, Community and Digital Media, President Gustavo Petro warned about what he considers a coup d’état in progress.
Unlike the military coups that have occurred in countries such as Chile, Brazil or Peru, Petro said that an administrative and political coup d’état is brewing in Colombia.
The president, before an audience of more than 1,500 people in the capital of Quindío, stated which is being tried illegally by an administrative body that has no jurisdiction to do soAccording to Petro, this coup is similar to the dismissal he experienced when he was mayor of Bogotá, pointing out that the Constitution prevents the President of the Republic from being stripped of immunity by an administrative entity.
“It is a Colombian-style coup d’état. Three judges signed a ruling without jurisdiction, stripping the President of the Republic of his constitutional immunity, without any law and without any constitutional reform,” he said. The president’s direct reference was to the process he is currently facing before an administrative body, which he described as illegitimate.
The alliance between media and power
Petro also harshly criticized traditional media outlets and their role in this alleged coup attempt. According to the president, these media outlets have been part of a strategy to make his government’s achievements invisible and reduce its popular support.
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“The goal of the mainstream media is clear: to deprive this government of popular support.“the president said, warning that if they succeed, “there would be an immediate coup d’état here.”
In his opinion, the large economic and political groups that control the press have distorted public perception. of his government by presenting only the versions that are detrimental to him, in order to create an environment conducive to his dismissal.
The president recalled the popular victory of 2022, pointing out that it was a key moment in the history of Colombia, when more than eleven million voters broke with the practices of electoral manipulation and decided to support a change in the country.
Petro attributed his victory to the youth, who, according to him, left behind the violent protests and used their vote to stop the violence and massacres. “A million young men and women gave me the victory because they no longer wanted a country sunk in death decreed by those in power,” he said.
In response to the cry of “They shall not pass” In a statement to the audience, the president said that this slogan is directly linked to the defense of the 1991 Constitution and the popular vote. Referring to historical events such as April 19, 1970, and the assassination of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Petro warned about the dangers of repeating episodes of political violence in the country.
Mobilization of the people
To conclude his speech, Petro called for popular mobilization as the only way to stop the coup d’état that, according to him, is brewing. “There is no other way to stop a coup d’état that will lead us to generations of violence than with a people’s revolution,” he emphasized.
The president invited Colombians not only to take to the streets, but to defend their right to communicate and tell the truth. “The time of the Colombian people has come and we will be at their side,” he concluded, reaffirming his commitment to continue fighting alongside the people in defense of democracy.
This speech has generated strong reactions in the political and social spheres, where the implications of his statements are already being discussed. Meanwhile, the country continues to closely observe the events that unfold around the figure of the president and his government.
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