Original article: Petro y Cepeda arrancan oficialmente como líderes de la oposición en Colombia: Su primera réplica fue un plan para el Chocó
This week, Iván Cepeda and Gustavo Petro utilized their right of reply for the first time, a constitutional tool in Colombia that allows the opposition to respond to the President’s pronouncements through the same official media.
Both leaders debuted this right of reply in response to the recent earthquake that impacted the country, with Cepeda presenting seven proposals aimed at assisting the thousands of families affected.
«Aid must reach everyone without political, social, or ethnic discrimination. Shelter, food, water, and health care guaranteed while reconstruction occurs. No family should be left homeless,» emphasized the former presidential candidate from Colombia’s Historic Pact.
Cepeda also proposed direct hiring of community action boards to ensure that reconstruction efforts are carried out by organized communities, warning that a «second emergency is approaching: drought and fires, along with the El Niño phenomenon.»
«No foreign military force without Senate authorization»
An important point raised by Iván Cepeda pertained to Article 173 of the Colombian Constitution, which relates to the sovereignty of the nation. He stated that «no foreign military force» is allowed to enter national territory «without Senate approval.»
Finally, the former presidential candidate demanded that «the 18 million pesos allocated for congressional bonuses should be redirected to the victims. The economic emergency should not burden the rights of the most vulnerable.»
On his part, former president Gustavo Petro criticized the De la Espriella government for allegedly rejecting a «well-organized transition,» which he claimed «turned the first 100 hours—crucial for saving lives—into a greater disaster.»
«The hospital ship, the Benkos Biojó, which had performed 7,882 operations on the coast, remained stuck in Buenaventura for seven days, unable to assist via the rivers of the Pacific; and it’s still unclear where the 9 billion pesos my government allocated for immediate care are,» Petro highlighted.
The ex-president also mentioned the healthcare teams «nobody called»: thousands of nurses and doctors from the «healthy territories» of the Pacific were not reactivated—according to Petro, due to partisanship—despite the availability of military helicopters to transport them.
Moreover, he accused the current government of rejecting general humanitarian aid, substituting it with actions he described as «Israeli military intelligence operations on Colombian soil,» lacking experience in survivor rescue efforts.
«Let the reconstruction not turn into exploitation»
Finally, Petro shed light on the «persistent discrimination,» arguing that «the Coffee Axis and Cali monopolized the rescues while Chocó and Buenaventura were left behind.»
Regarding reconstruction funding, the former president questioned, «Where do the 30 trillion pesos come from? From recovering the tax reform of 20 trillion pesos paid by the wealthy and lowering the interest rate of the Bank of the Republic, instead of indebting the country with the IMF or accepting handouts from the rich.»
«The underlying warning is that reconstruction should not turn into exploitation – gold, land, fracking, emeralds as payment – and it should be carried out through self-construction supported by the state and community organizations,» emphasized Gustavo Petro.
Watch the full response below:
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