Colombia's new progressive parliament boos outgoing president Iván Duque during the parts of his speech considered blatant lies. Photo: EFE.
This Wednesday, the outgoing president of Colombia, Iván Duque, was booed as he inaugurated the country’s new Congress for the 2022-2026 term.
According to HispanTV, the last speech of the Colombian president—which was held via video conference—was greeted by jeers from the new congresspersons, while they carried tens of posters with photos of social leaders assassinated during his term.
During his speech, when outgoing President Duque said that one of his administration’s accomplishments was achieving peace, shouts of “liar, liar” could be heard from the floor.
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#Política "¡Mentiroso, mentiroso!", le gritan al presidente @IvanDuque en medio de su discurso en la instalación del Congreso al hablar de pazhttps://t.co/VsDckYlyww pic.twitter.com/oqcODGrNnh
— ÚltimaHoraCaracol (@UltimaHoraCR) July 20, 2022
Duque was an outspoken opponent of the Peace Accords, signed in 2016 by the the government of Juan Manuel Santos and former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP), after four years of negotiations in Havana, Cuba.
According to the Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz), from August 7, 2018, when Duque took office, until June 4, a total of at least 261 massacres were perpetrated, leaving 1,144 victims.
In 2021 alone, a total of 171 social leaders were killed.
The boos continued when the outgoing president referred to drug trafficking in the country. For Duque, drug trafficking is the main protagonist of the violence in the country.
“It has been drug trafficking, coca crops, corruption and armed groups, they are the real enemies and those to blame for the murders of social leaders… it is a reality that fills us with pain; as a government we act in the face of that reality,” said Duque, quoted by the Colombian media outlet Caracol Radio, in an attempt to whitewash his responsibility for the bloodshed during his tenure.
“We maintained an unrestricted commitment to the generation of opportunities,” said Duque, while attendees continued to call him a liar.
Colombia 🇨🇴 .
Entre Gritos y Abucheos despiden en el Congreso a Iván Duque.
El presidente de Colombia, fue abucheado durante su último discurso en el Congreso. pic.twitter.com/W9KnJMWDhe— Pedro la Rosa (@Pedrola51624238) July 21, 2022
A historic congress
For the first time in the country’s history, the Colombian Senate will be made up of a majority of leftist and center-left legislators.
Specifically, the Historical Pact (Pacto Histórico por Colombia) holds 20 seats, along with 15 for the Conservative Party, 14 for the Liberal Party, 12 for the Green Alliance, 11 for Radical Change (Cambio Radical), 10 for the U Party, and 5 for Commons (Comunes), organizations that are in alliance with the government of President-elect Gustavo Petro.
Similarly, this Congress has the distinction of being the most populated in the country’s recent history, due to the 16 seats reserved for representatives of Special Transitory Peace Districts (Circunscripciones Transitorias Especiales de Paz, CITREP), regions where a particularly high number of Colombians have been killed in the epidemic of violence that has plagued the country since the murder of presidential candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán in 1948. The new Congress is also unique because it houses the youngest congressmen in its entire history, reports HispanTV.
Petro will become president of Colombia on August 7, after winning the presidential elections held on June 19, becoming Colombia’s first leftist president.
(Últimas Noticias) by Ariadna Eljuri, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
