British MP Jeremy Corbyn (left) and Nobel peace prize winner Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (right). Photo: Al Mayadeen.
Nobel peace prize awardee Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Spanish lawyer Baltasar Garzón, British socialist MP Jeremy Corbyn, former French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, and three former presidents expressed their support for Gustavo Petro.
Left-wing intellectuals, politicians, and union leaders from 35 countries condemned the soft coup unrolling against Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
This Wednesday, June 7, signatories revealed a letter that had been signed by more than 370 personalities from countries across the world—from Canada to Argentina and from Belgium to Senegal.
According to the signatories, Colombian traditional oligarchic powers are attempting to restore an order marked by extreme inequality, environmental destruction, and state-sponsored violence.
Less than a year after the president’s inauguration, his enemies are deploying the combined institutional power of regulators, media conglomerates, and the country’s judiciary to halt Petro’s reforms.
In addition, the Colombian elite is attempting to intimidate Petro’s supporters, overthrow his political allies, and smear his image on the international scene, says the letter signed by former Colombian president Ernesto Samper, former president of Ecuador Rafael Correa, and former prime minister of Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, among others.
BREAKING (1/3) 🇨🇴 Over 400 MPs, MEPs, Senators, Mayors, Fmr. Presidents and Trade Union leaders from 20+ countries warn that "a soft coup is underway" against the @PactoCol and the government of @petrogustavo in Colombia. “We call on allies of democracy everywhere to stand up.” pic.twitter.com/BwOZAozMQb
— Progressive International (@ProgIntl) June 7, 2023
According to the letter, several congressmen from the Historical Pact, an official political party, are being investigated by Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office. These politicians include Alex Flórez, Alexander López, David Racero, Susana Boreal, and María José Pizarro, one of the government negotiators with the ELN.
For the signatories—among whom stand out US activist Noam Chomsky and the mayoress of Barcelona, Ada Colau—the actions of Colombia’s attorney general, whom they describe as a “close ally of former President Álvaro Uribe, and Minister of Justice under the previous government of Iván Duque,” constitute a flagrant violation of the legal precedent established in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights preventing administrative bodies from removing elected officials.
These processes can result in the suspension, dismissal, and disqualification of congresspersons—further reads the letter—and make it difficult or impossible for the healthcare, labor, and pension reforms proposed by the Petro government to advance.
The objective of this subversive campaign is to protect the interests of Colombia’s traditional powers against popular reforms in favor of raising wages, improving healthcare, protecting the environment, and bringing peace to the country.
On May 29, the Colombian head of state stated that a soft coup had been launched against him, attempting to hinder the actions of his progressive administration and, ultimately, to remove him from office unconstitionally.
Featured image: (Al Mayadeen)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
