Demonstrations in support of President Petro’s reforms
There were thousands on Tuesday pounding the pavement in Colombia to support the reforms of leftist President Gustavo Petro.
Many processions traveled through Colombia on Tuesday. Here in the country’s capital Bogota.
AFP
Thousands of Colombians demonstrated in Colombia’s major cities on Tuesday to support two key reforms wanted by leftist President Gustavo Petro on health and pensions. Various left-wing organizations, parties and trade unions have responded to the call of the first left-wing government in Colombia’s history, which this week presents an ambitious battery of reforms in Congress, where it has a majority thanks to a coalition with center and moderate right parties.
“The people who won (the elections) are the people and the people want change in Colombia. Let’s go for the changes towards a democratic and peaceful country”, harangued on Twitter President Petro, elected in the summer of 2022 precisely on this slogan of “change”, and who was to speak at the end of afternoon from the presidency in Bogota. With Colombian flags, musical instruments and various banners, protesters gathered in Bogota, Medellin, Cali and several other major cities.
The government presented this Tuesday before Congress an ambitious reform of the health system, which aims to reduce the participation of the private sector in this system, to extend health coverage to the poorest and to create a special work system for the sector employees. This reform is far from unanimous, and has sparked strong political tensions, including within the government coalition. The right-wing opposition called for demonstrations on Wednesday to counter it.
A reform deemed “expensive” for opponents
After the adoption of a new law on taxes, it is part of the other social and societal reforms wanted by President Petro (and which will be presented this week to Congress), on pensions, the overhaul of the system penitentiary, or even the submission to justice of drug traffickers.
“It is necessary and urgent to reform health in Colombia (…), the doctors do not have time to take care of the patients, it is very difficult to have an appointment, it is unfair”, has told AFP Isabel Cordoba, a 38-year-old Afro-Colombian lawyer, who was demonstrating in Bogota.
Gloria Peñuela, a nurse at a university hospital, highlighted the “lack of opportunities” for health workers, as patients in some areas “have great difficulty accessing health services”. Opponents of the reform, including leaders of pro-Petro parties or former health officials, criticize a costly reform that risks encouraging corruption and making the medical profession even more precarious.
The influential president of the Senate, and key ally of the Head of State, the liberal Roy Barreras, has expressed reservations about the projects concerning health and drug traffickers. “They want to resuscitate a public health system that was a disaster, and the worst thing is that they are giving public health resources back to mayors and governors,” criticized former health minister Fernando Ruiz on local media.
AFP
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