A message of unity was sent by the Liberal Party yesterday because 44 of the senators and representatives expressed their support for the decisions adopted by César Gaviria, head of the community, in a meeting they held at the former president’s house.
The endorsement of Gaviria’s mandate occurred at a crucial moment for the community due to the decisions it must make before the Government. On the one hand, the political declaration as to whether it will go to independence or the opposition, after the coalition broke up; and on the other, to ratify or reverse the contrary position that he has manifested to the health and labor reforms.
It was learned that 44 of the 46 senators and representatives that the community has, attended the invitation of former President Gaviria to have lunch at his house, where, as expected, the main topics they spoke about were the great government reforms that are being processed in the Congress, as well as the direction of the political declaration towards the opposition or independence.
The Liberal Party together with the Conservative and the U decided from the beginning of this Government to be part of the coalition and, therefore, to support its policies. This was seen last year with the approval of the tax reform, the political reform, the Treaty of Escazú, as well as the draft legislation to create the agrarian and rural jurisdiction, and the one that elevates the rights of peasants to constitutional status. .
However, the outlook in the coalition for these three communities changed this year due to the substantive objections made to the health reform text filed by then-minister Carolina Corcho, since they consider that the adjustments it brings, such as the elimination of the EPS, would endanger the system.
This situation led to the fact that on April 27, President Petro broke the coalition with the conservatives, liberals and the U, knowing that it would be difficult for the government’s reforms to be approved without these votes.
Prior to the vote on the report of the presentation in the first debate on the health reform, the relationship between a sector of the bench and the leadership of the Liberal Party became tense, due to the fact that former President Gaviria announced sanctions against congressmen who vote in favor of this project.
“The sanctions contemplated in the statutes will be applied for those who deviate from the decisions that are considered to be from the bench,” Gaviria said in a statement.
Despite this, the representative María Eugenia Lopera voted in favor of the presentation report on the health reform. For this reason, the leadership of the Liberal Party announced a disciplinary investigation of the Antioquia parliamentarian.
Within this framework, 18 Liberal representatives sent a communication to former President Gaviria expressing their discomfort at the situation that was being presented. “We received with annoyance and indignation the statement that you made yesterday, not only because of the content, but also because of the inappropriate and undemocratic decisions that are announced in it,” they said.
What immediately happened is that the Liberal Party suspended said investigation of Lopera, as well as representative Dolcey Torres, who said he would vote in favor of the reforms.
While from then on the four liberal parliamentarians of the Seventh Chamber Commission have voted in favor of the 24 articles that have been approved so far of the health reform.
The latter has occurred while the Party makes a decision on whether to go to independence or to the opposition.
what’s coming
Yesterday’s vote of confidence from the bench to the decisions of former president César Gaviria, would leave him ready to define the position that the Liberal Party will have against the administration of Gustavo Petro, which would be independence according to what has been known.
It is worth remembering that, after leaving the coalition, the Conservative Party declared itself independent. Later, the U adopted the same decision.
Former President Gaviria would also emerge strengthened before the Government by this position of the liberal bench, since the strategy of the Casa de Nariño, after breaking the coalition, is to speak directly with the congressmen seeking support for the reforms, leaving aside doing so with the managers of the collectivities.