“We are looking for solutions and consensus for the well-being of Colombians”: conclusions of Duque’s meeting with the Coalition of Hope

In the morning of this Friday, the Coalition of Hope, made up of center-left politicians, they met the president Iván Duque will try to play a mediating role on the situation facing Colombia and reach an agreement to end the strike and the points to be included in the new tax reform to be proposed by the Ministry of Finance are discussed.

At around 10:40 am, the meeting between this political sector and the president ended; at the end of the meeting, Humberto de la Calle, Sergio Fajardo, Ángela Robledo, Iván Marulanda, Jorge Robledo and other members of this important sector of Colombian politics They spoke to the media and expressed the points they discussed during the meeting with Duque.

For his part, the first to speak was the chief negotiator of the agreements with the FARC, Humberto de la Calle, who assured that “it was a productive meeting”. In addition, he mentioned that “We have not come to supplant the strike committee, we have to negotiate with the strike committee. We have come with a patriotic goal of trying to overcome the most acute crisis in the contemporary scene in Colombian history ”.

“This Coalition of Hope is simply committed to dialogue, the future of Colombians and social change. (…) The president also maintained his point of view. (…) We still have to work and we told the president that we trust Colombia to change course. We have expressed objections to the management of the government, ”said De la Calle.

In other of his statements, the former presidential candidate also mentioned that during the meeting with the president they made it clear that they were the opposition to his government and that is why “Here, there is no kind of national pact or national front pact, but a voice of people who, being in the opposition, want to cooperate in the dialogue in an extremely critical situation”, De la Calle condemned.

Next to speak was the presidential candidate of Compromiso Ciudadano, who is currently under investigation by the prosecution, Sergio Fajardo. In his statement, the former governor of Antioquia said the coalition he is a part of invited Duque “To listen to Colombia” and to the various unions and unions which demand the intervention of the Colombian State.

“You have to listen to those who are represented by many unions, by people who do not have access to this place (the Casa de Nariño). We reiterate to the President that Colombia is more than Bogotá, that it is more than an office, that it has a certain number of people. In fact, we suggested that the first task was to go to Cali, to Siloam, to meet the communities, to gather hopeful young people around the schools, to convene the social organizations, the community action committee; take the time to respond, to respect. (…) People of all kinds who suffer from violence. We do not want a Colombia where fear turns into rage, we must listen to all the people, the children, the small entrepreneurs who are suffering, the middle class who are worried about the future, ”said Fajardo.

Another of the landmark statements this morning was made by Jorge Robledo, director of the new left-wing political party, Dignidad. The congressman, who left the army in early 2021 at the democratic pole, assured: “We entered as an opposition force to the government. We did our analysis of the national situation and told the president that he should sit down to negotiate with the strike committee. This is the only thing to resolve this whole situation that we are going through. The strike committee is the one that can best represent the points of view of the popular sectors of the middle class, in particular those of small and medium-sized enterprises ”.

Senator of the Alianza Verde party, Ivan Marulanda, He also referred to the dialogue with the Colombian president, who asked him (as “ the Greens ” have done on other occasions) basic income approval this will greatly benefit millions of Colombian families in vulnerable situations.

“We declare to the President of the Republic the obligation of the State to serve six million poor households in Colombia suffering from hunger. It is the duty of the ethical and constitutional state to reach out to these families with an immediate basic income which helps these households to resolve the situation of poverty and hunger they live. There are more than 20 million compatriots in misery and the state cannot stand idly by recognizing the rights these households have to a life of dignity, ”said Marulanda.

In other parts of his statements, the opposition congressman added that he had asked the head of state to guarantee a void registration. “So that poor young people can go to university with the support of the state by canceling all their registrations”, added.

Meanwhile, President Iván Duque also spoke about the meeting with the aforementioned politicians, assured that it was a productive meeting and that they will seek << Solutions et consensus pour le bien-être des Colombiens et garantir la prise en charge des plus vulnérables >>, the president expressed in his official Twitter account.

Relive the Coalition of Hope’s statement below:

KEEP READING: