International
Petro opens an unexpected debate in Colombia with his proposal for a constituent assembly
An unexpected debate on the Constitution opened in Colombia with the proposal of President Gustavo Petro to convene a national constituent assembly in the face of the difficulty of getting Congress to approve its reforms.
This was recognized this Saturday by the president himself on the social network X where he referred to the proposal he presented on Friday in Cali (southwest), which has been criticized by politicians of all currents, including some who supported him in the presidential elections of 2022.
“The proposal of the Constituent Assembly will unleash a national debate. It’s good that it is so,” said the president when sharing the speech in which he made the controversial announcement, described as a “globe” of distraction by various sectors because Petro’s legislative and popular support is diminishing.
According to former left-wing senator Jorge Robledo, Petro’s idea of a constituent only seeks to distract “because he does not have enough votes to approve it in Congress or to approve it among the citizens.”
“That he mentions it, rather than proving his political strength in Colombia, what he demonstrates is his weakness,” Robledo said in X, and assured that Petro’s maneuver is a sign of “despair.”
On Friday, at an event in Puerto Resistencia, a sector of Cali that was the epicenter of the 2021 social protests, Petro argued that the constituent national assembly is necessary if the institutions that the country has “are not able to live up to the reforms” proposed by his Government and that are bogged down in Congress.
The protests were the starting point of the nonconformity that led Petro to win the 2022 elections and in them, the protesters, mostly young people, demanded profound social changes in the country, a flag that the current president took.
Petro’s statement has not been received by politicians, who consider it impertinent to change a Constitution that was promulgated in 1991 and in the drafting of which the demobilized of the M-19 guerrillas, of which the current president was a part, participated, among others.
Senator Humberto de la Calle, a member of the Esperanza Center Coalition and who was the only representative of the Executive in the National Constituent Assembly of 1991, described the president’s argument as “weak.”
“The cause that the president alleges to convene a constituent is the impossibility of complying with the Constitution, according to his own saying (…) If it were true, it is not the Constitution that must be changed but the way of governing,” the congressman added in a statement.
De la Calle recalled that to approve a constituent, a bill is required, which must go through a Congress in which Petro no longer has majorities, and “two calls to the people,” first to say if he wants a constitutional reform and, if so, to approve any changes.
The president was reminded on social networks of a campaign promise he made in 2018 when he allied himself with a faction of the Green Alliance party – led by the former mayors of Bogotá Antanas Mockus and Claudia López – not to convene a constituent.
In the photo, today’s president appears carrying a marble plaque in which he signed a decalogue of commitments in case he wins the elections, which he ended up losing with the Uribe Iván Duque.
The second point said: “I will not convene a constituent assembly.”
Claudia López, who was mayor of Bogotá between 2020 and 2023, said in X: “Gustavo Petro deceived Colombia, ended his incapable government, and decided to devote himself to chaos, the distribution of subsidies and polarization. Serenity and firmness Colombia. In democracy we will protect the Constitution of ’91, which was the result of a national and citizen agreement.”
“It does not have a majorities even to approve an ordinary Law, much less to convene a Constituent Assembly. He knows it, but he says it to sow chaos, division and polarization that are the tools with which he will maneuver the remaining period. Gustavo Petro doesn’t care about change, the people, the economy, security, or the country. The only thing that matters to him is to feed his vain megalomania,” he added.
Analyst León Valencia, director of the Peace & Reconciliation Foundation (Pares), assured that he understands “Petro’s frustration” because “social reforms, as necessary as they are urgent, do not advance” and “the resistance of the traditional elites is enormous.”
However, he considered that “perhaps the environment is not there to embark on a constituent process.”
“The best thing is to go to the presidential faculties to make the possible changes through decrees and directives and concentrate efforts on executing the approved development plan and advancing peace with the ELN (National Liberation Army),” Valencia added.
International
Ecuador declares state of emergency in five provinces to combat organized crime
The Ecuadorian government has declared a state of exception in the provinces of El Oro, Guayas, Los Ríos, Manabí, and Santa Elena for 60 days to combat organized armed groups amid escalating hostilities, according to Executive Decree 250 published on Tuesday.
The Armed Forces and National Police are jointly working to “maintain sovereignty and the integrity of the state.”
With this measure, the right to inviolability of the home has been suspended, meaning security authorities are permitted to conduct inspections, raids, and searches on properties where they believe members associated with armed groups may be hiding.
Authorities will also seize “materials or instruments” that could be used to commit crimes to neutralize threats.
In response to the criminal activity in the territory, the government will also establish an Anti-Criminal Investigation Force in the coming days aimed at reducing intentional homicides.
The national director of Crimes Against Life, Violent Deaths, Disappearances, Extortion, and Kidnapping of the National Police (Dinased), Freddy Sarzosa, noted that the main cause of criminal violence is linked to drug and arms trafficking.
International
Argentine president criticizes spanish PM amidst political row
Argentine President Javier Milei sharply criticized Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, suggesting he “has more significant issues to address,” in response to comments made by Spain’s Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, on Friday.
“The government of Pedro Sánchez has more significant issues to deal with, such as the corruption allegations against his wife, a matter that even led him to consider resignation,” stated Argentine President Javier Milei.
In this regard, the Argentine leader expressed his expectation that the judiciary would act “swiftly” in this corruption case, which he mentioned “affects the stability” of Spain and relations between the two nations.
Moreover, Milei accused Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of “endangering” the unity of Spain by “negotiating with separatists,” harming women by “allowing illegal immigration of those who threaten their physical integrity,” and damaging the middle class through “socialist policies that only bring poverty and death.”
The Argentine presidency issued these statements in response to remarks from Spain’s Minister of Transport and Mobility, Óscar Puente, who accused Milei of “substance ingestion,” which the Argentine presidency labeled as “slander and libel.”
“I saw Milei on TV and, hearing him, I couldn’t tell in what state he was in, before or after the ingestion of whatever substances, and he came out to say that and I thought, it’s impossible that he wins the elections, he’s dug his own grave, but no,” Puente declared at a colloquium on communication and social media held this Friday in Salamanca.
International
The death toll of the devastating floods in Kenya amounts to 210
The death toll from the devastating floods caused by the torrential rains that hit Kenya since mid-March amounted to 210, while about 165,500 people have been displaced, the Kenyan Ministry of the Interior reported on Friday.
The total death toll increased after 22 more deaths were confirmed in the last 24 hours, the Ministry said in a statement collected by local media.
Likewise, the injured and missing remain at 125 and 90, respectively, and a total of 196,000 have been affected by the floods throughout the country, immersed in the long rainy season, which has especially hit the center, south and west of its territory.
To respond to this crisis, the Ministry said, the Kenyan authorities have created at least 115 camps distributed in 19 of the 47 counties of Kenya, where more than 27,500 people have taken refuge.
The Government published these data after the Kenyan Minister of the Interior, Kithure Kindiki, urged on Thursday to move all Kenyans who reside in areas vulnerable to landslides or near dams and rivers.
In a message published on social network X late on Thursday, Kindiki pointed out that all neighbors in those areas are “ordered” to “leave these areas immediately” in the next 24 hours, before a “mandatory evacuation” is launched.
“The Government has adopted adequate measures to provide temporary accommodation, as well as essential food and non-food supplies to all those who will be affected by the eviction,” the minister said.
The truth is, however, that, according to the Human Rights Watch (HRW) organization, the Government of Kenya did not act in time or respond adequately to the serious floods, despite the weather predictions it had.
In a statement released on Thursday, the NGO warned that the destruction caused by the rains “has exacerbated socioeconomic vulnerabilities” by more severely hitting the poor population, rural residents, the elderly and people with disabilities.
In the same vein, a report by the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) published on Tuesday pointed out that the storms have aggravated the lack of food in Kenya to the point that about two million Kenyans need food aid.
Severe storms will last at least until next week, and the rains will continue to be intense during this month, according to the prediction of the Department of Meteorology of Kenya.
In recent years, the long rainy season, which runs from March to May and also affects other countries in East Africa, has been intensified by the El Niño weather phenomenon, a change in atmospheric dynamics caused by the increase in the temperature of the Pacific Ocean.
The west, center and south of the country – including the capital, Nairobi – have so far taken the worst part, and the overflow of a river on Monday especially hit Nakuru County, where at least 71 people died as a result of the tragedy.
Ecuador declares state of emergency in five provinces to combat organized crime
Argentine president criticizes spanish PM amidst political row
The death toll of the devastating floods in Kenya amounts to 210
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
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