The elections were, as the friends of the ‘Change government’ claimed, a referendum against Peter, his first year in power, his statements and unpopular reforms. If the outcome had been different, they would surely have said that the people spoke in favor of reforms, the streets spoke, and Congress could not ignore this very clear popular message. For minimum consistency, the same results should be applied to yourself.
But it is not. What they did was collect the uncollectibles and convince us that the result was a victory for the Historical Pact and its allies. But even they don’t believe it. The government guarantees that they won in 9 governorships, but the undeniable fact is that they won only one governorship, in Nariño, where, to be frank, they lost about half of the votes they received in the last elections. Nor is it true that they won in Cauca, where Petro had 79 percent favorability and his candidate barely had 20 percent support. But the worst could come in Bogotá, which elected Petro’s president and where support fell from 59% to just 18%.
They faced similar beatings with anti-government rhetoric in all capitals where coalition candidates won. They all knew how to understand citizens’ frustration and crafted their speeches and proposals to appeal to these voters.
No one wanted to risk the second round in Bogota’s match against Galán. Galanistas and those who did not vote angrily and massively against the national and also local Government. I must admit that, like many people, I was surprised by the support for the Oviedo candidate who managed to withstand such a tsunami. I’m glad he got the seat on the council and not Bolivar.
What happened in Bogota spread throughout the country. Fico in Medellín grew up rejecting the Quintero-Petro duopoly, Eder in Cali endured the blight of a four-year term under the worst mayor the city has ever seen; The same thing happened with Beltrán and Cárdenas in Bucaramanga, with Dumek in Cartagena. and incompetence in Dau and Manizales with Rojas and Marín, in Tunja with Professor Krasnov and Funeme. And of course in Popayán, Cúcuta and Florencia, where mayors of the ‘green’ party were also defeated. The same thing happened in Arauca and Armenia and in intermediate cities such as Soacha, Buenaventura, Sogamoso. More precisely, all places, including Ciénaga de Oro and Zipaquirá, are the lands where President Petro was born and educated.
So how can we doubt that this debate has become a referendum on the management of the Government? Impossible. Moreover, I was able to show that in the regions many parliamentarians disguised as Petrists in the corridors of the Nariño Palace were the most furious opponents of the Government.
The President stated on October 29 that “Colombians are expressing themselves.” What a great truth. They expressed their dissatisfaction with a government that paralyzes the country, makes it insecure in rural and urban areas, drags it into uncertainty, polarizes it, and does not fulfill every promise it makes. signs of his complete incompetence. Yes, Colombians have expressed their opposition to all this. Let’s not make mistakes.
Will there be reprisals against local leaders, will investments be halted, and will resources flow to the regions? I hope this does not happen, because in addition to paralyzing the country, they will classify all new leaders as enemies, with unpredictable consequences for the rest of the government.
Let’s hope that once legislation resumes, the parties have listened to their supporters at the ballot box and do not suddenly start voting for reforms, as I fear they might.
We, the opponents of the Government, became the winners in this forest of support, approval and participation, because very few of those elected could have made it without the support and assistance of those who put the national interest before our own partisans and supported those who emerged. They are seen as favorites, provided they voice their discontent and avoid alliances with the Historical Pact. That’s how it happened. Even if those who lost everything feel victorious, the consequences are obvious.
GERMÁN VARGAS LLERAS
(Read all articles by Germán Vargas Lleras in EL TIEMPO here)
Source: Exame
