2023-09-06 03:28:09
This Tuesday, September 5, the House of Representatives voted against the paper that sought to archive the health reform of the government of President Gustavo Petro.
It took place after six and a half hours of discussion between friends and opponents of the Casa de Nariño. 97 leaders voted against the file and 48 in favor.
The discussion of the project originated in the midst of the controversy over the creation of a subcommittee that seeks the drafting of a new text, agreed with all the political parties.
With the collapse of the file of the initiative, it is expected that the project will continue its process in the Legislature.
The congressman of the Democratic Center, Andrés Forero, confirmed “that the dismantling of the health system by the government of Gustavo Petro is advancing. The congressmen who approve this monstrosity will carry the health crisis that they will unleash on their conscience.
For her part, the representative of the Green Alliance, Catherine Juvinao, assured “that, despite the multiple warnings that we made in various voices about the statutory nature of the health reform, it was not possible to convince the Government. The last word will be the Constitutional Court. Unfortunately, the risk of unconstitutionality is there”.
Meanwhile, Congressman Gabriel Becerra, who is part of the Historical Pact, said “he remains firm. Today despite the many attempts by the opposition to delay, archive and deny the possibility of advancing in this important national discussion. The file presentation was denied with 97 votes against and 48 in favor. Now it is up to us to continue with a broad and democratic debate on the articles, and in turn to form a real national agreement”.
The Minister of the Interior, Luis Fernando Velasco, celebrated the decision and announced that the national government is willing to participate in the subcommittee approved by the House of Representatives and that it seeks to draft a new text of the project.
Follow here minute by minute:
10:17 pm: Majorities in Congress voted against Gustavo Petro’s archival presentation report on healthcare reform. 88 representatives voted against filing the initiative and 45 endorsed it.
9:31: pm: The representative of the Democratic Center, Andrés Forero, says that today the Government is going for the EPS in the health reform, but later it will go for the IPS.
9:10 pm: The congressman of the Democratic Center, Juan Espinal, asked where the government of Gustavo Petro wants to take the country with the health reform. He wondered if he wanted to copy the model of Venezuela and Cuba. He insists that it should not be processed through ordinary channels. “We are collecting signatures to hold a popular consultation and reform the health system,” he recalled.
8:32 pm: The congressman for the Democratic Center, Hernán Cadavid, argues in the House of Representatives why he believes that the health reform should be shelved. He talks about the arrogance of Minister Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo.
8:23 pm: The representative of Cambio Radical, Julio César Triana, insists that the health reform should be processed through the statutes and not ordinary in Congress. He warns that the Constitutional Court will knock her down.
7:35 pm: The file presentation report begins, led by representative Juan Felipe Corzo, of the Democratic Center.
The representative of the Democratic Center, Juan Felipe Corzo Álvarez.
“We are against the nationalization and bureaucratization of the health system. This proposal, without a doubt, leads us to it. The financial feasibility is not clear, we do not know how much the reform will cost and if what it proposes is viable”, Corzo raised, among his objections to the reform.
Betsy Pérez, from Cambio Radical, intervenes on behalf of the other opposition party to file the bill.
7:30 pm: The permanent session of the House of Representatives was approved, with 109 votes yes and 18 no. Follow the debate on health reform.
7:18 pm: The plenary session of the House of Representatives denied the rest of the postponement proposals, signed by several congressmen from different parties. 33 parliamentarians voted yes, while 102 asked to discard the proposal.
House of Representatives. | Photo: Esteban Vega La Rotta
6:30 pm: After the vote on the impediments, it was learned that Carolina Arbeláez, representative of Cambio Radical, challenged Andrés Calle, president of the House of Representatives, for the investigation that the Supreme Court of Justice is conducting against him for alleged quotas in the National Savings Fund.
“I am concerned that the first one who should give the guarantees to be able to form that subcommittee for national dialogue should be you. Precisely because of this preliminary investigation that you have, so as not to create any kind of doubt that you may be committing what the investigation says, which is precisely that you received positions in the National Savings Fund,” said Arbeláez.
Andrés Calle, president of the House of Representatives. | Photo: Screenshot
5:30 pm: Progress is being made with the vote on the impediments of congressmen who have some kind of relationship with the health system.
5:10 pm: Andrés Calle, president of the House of Representatives, assures that he will continue the debate on health reform, despite the creation of the subcommittee.
“Of course, we are going to create the accidental commission, as the majority of the plenary and the Colombian people have requested, but this is respecting the principles that govern this corporation. (…) We are going to create this accidental commission, but in no way are we going to prevent the debate that should take place in this corporation”, announced Calle.
Health reform debate. | Photo: Esteban Vega La Rotta
He assured that the subcommittee has “only” the task of delivering a report to the plenary, which must be approved or disapproved. According to Calle, it will be created “at the appropriate time.”
5:00 pm: Katherine Miranda, representative of the Green Alliance, proposes to form the subcommittee before the presentation reports.
“I would ask you, Mr. President, that we give the guarantees. That we make this subcommittee before the paper reports are voted on. The Conservatives say they have an agreement to downvote the paper report that has been submitted,” he said.
Representative Katherine Miranda | Photo: Guillermo Torres
In the same way, representative Miranda asked that the country be given an opportunity to reach consensus.
4:48 pm: With 106 votes yes and 29 no, the agenda was approved, so we proceed to debate the health reform.
4:37 pm: The proposals to postpone the debate are put to a vote. With 29 votes for yes and 118 for no, the decision is to continue with the agenda, whose first point is the health reform. The agenda is voted on.
4:30 pm: David Racero, representative of the Historical Pact, assures that the subcommittee cannot be formed without the impediments being voted on. In this way, he asks that the debate not be postponed.
“We would be violating the right of a colleague whose situation has not been resolved. Understand the legislative process, you cannot lead the speaker of the House to commit any irregularity. I invite you to enter the debate, ”he said.
4:18 pm: According to Jaime Luis Lacouture, general secretary of the House of Representatives, four proposals were filed to modify the agenda, in order to postpone the discussion of the health reform.
Health reform debate. | Photo: House of Representatives.
3:54 pm: With the records exhausted, representatives Carolina Arbeláez and Andrés Forero lead a proposal to postpone the debate on health reform. The objective is that the subcommittee that seeks to build a new text, agreed with all the parties, is formed.
“We have filed, with various representatives, a request for postponement of the health reform project. I see that it has not been put on the agenda to be put to a vote,” Arbeláez announced.
Andrés Forero and Carolina Arbeláez. | Photo: WEEK, Carolina Arbeláez Press
Andrés Forero asks to vote on the proposition before the agenda, so that it is discarded before starting the debate.
On the other hand, pro-government parliamentarians such as Heraclito Landinez ask that the debate be brought to a close: “Any proposal that is made to postpone the discussion is to tell Colombians that we do not want to hold the debates and that we do not want to face the big problems from the country”.
3:12 pm: Andrés Calle, president of the House of Representatives, opens the registry with which it will be determined if there is a decision-making quorum. Space was given for records of various parliamentarians on issues other than the reform.
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