'The country should focus on democratic discussions and not on campaigns': María José Pizarro

Senator María José Pizarro of the Historic Pact spoke in an interview with EL TIEMPO about the progress of government reforms such as those on health and labor. The congresswoman also referred to the creation of the single party and the arrival of Armando Benedetti to the cabinet.

We are entering an electoral period, which will obviously imply relations based on electoral dynamics. I mean that, as the electoral campaign is strengthened or configured, this obviously creates a mirror in the Congress of the Republic. In any case, we have been working, dialoguing, building bridges and consensus. We have a bench that, independently of the decision that the Liberal Party has taken as a party, has been supporting the reforms. They are people who have democratic criteria and, therefore, we hope that the beginning of this electoral period and of a new legislative period will also translate into us being able to move forward with the reforms that are underway. We are talking about the labor reform, which is beginning its process in the Senate, the health reform that is currently being discussed in the House, obviously the law on competencies, the agrarian jurisdiction, and of course, there is a struggle that we will have to see, especially in the Senate, because the Government bench has no representation or seat on the Senate's board of directors. This means that today we have a board of directors controlled exclusively by the opposition, and we will have to be very demanding so that they comply with the democratic guarantees that they must provide to all parties, including the Government. This, due to the precautionary measures against Senator Jhon Jairo Roldán, who would occupy the first vice presidency.

The reform is coming to the Seventh Commission with Esperanza Andrade of the Conservative Party, that is, there is a change in that seat due to the resignation of the previous senator. It will not be an easy road, most likely, but I believe that the labor reform comes with important consensus. In what sense? It is a reform that has already been processed in the Chamber, where it had important changes in relation to the individual rights of workers. Collective rights are no longer part of the labor reform, therefore, I believe that it is a reform that seeks to strengthen individual rights, such as Sundays, holidays, work hours, aspects that I believe that all of Colombian society is aware of. Therefore, there must also be a defense by society of its labor rights. I believe that important discussions have already been settled there and I hope that the process can be carried out, taking into account and putting forward the interests of all Colombians, not the political interests of those who are in this commission. It is not about attacking the Government for the sake of attacking the Government, but rather about defending the rights of Colombians.

It could happen. At the moment, the Senate has a board of directors made up solely of the opposition, which obviously makes things difficult. In addition, the president of the Senate called himself in a forum the head of an "anti-reform gang" and, therefore, I believe that he has announced that he is going to do everything possible to hit the Government. But that is a typical attitude of the president of the Senate, not to protect his voters or the citizens, but because of his animosity and his political positions to hit the Government of President Gustavo Petro, above the interests of the Colombian people. We will be there to counterbalance and show, if necessary, that there is an attitude that is outside of what should be defended in democracy. Above all, a president who was voted for by the majorities of Congress and, therefore, must provide democratic guarantees to all political sectors. We hope that this is not the scenario, but it could obviously occur.

There is an electoral calendar that I hope we are all very clear about. This calendar marks the beginning of the electoral campaigns in December of this year. There is, obviously, an intention on the part of the far-right and right-wing sectors of this country to bring forward the campaign and start it as soon as possible. I think that the country should be focused on democratic discussions and not on early campaigns, but that is the pace and the reality that we will all have to face.

We defend a government program, we defend a plan that the majority of Colombia voted for. Many of the advances in reform issues could have been made if it had not been for the attitude of delay and recurrent absenteeism of the congressmen, due to legalities that prevent the discussion from taking place. This is not about passing the reforms or putting in motion any kind of steamroller, as did exist in past governments, but about people being able to listen to the debate. The debate must take place in front of the people, and we must understand very well what the limitations are that this Government has had and what we have been doing in Congress to push through the reforms . The debates, except in the case of the pension reform, where, at least I in the Senate, led the debate by presiding over most of the sessions to push through that reform, were debates where all the political parties participated with guarantees. It was a debate facing the nation, where fundamental agreements were made for some parties, and thus we managed to push through the pension reform in the Senate. But, obviously, in financial terms, there are responsibilities that fall to those who were part of the Public Credit Commission and, of course, the possibility of passing the general budget of the Nation in Congress and not by decree, as it was finally necessary to do.

We are moving forward at a very good pace. There are discussions and conversations between the political sectors that are part of the Historic Pact and that have expressed their desire to move forward in unity. In December, an event was held in which this path was made clear, and we are moving forward in legal, political and territorial commissions to quickly form this party.

We will see the outcome of the meetings that the different parties have been holding with both the chief of staff, Armando Benedetti, and the director of Dapre . So we will see what the tone of these conversations is and, of course, the final designation of the new Minister of the Interior.

I have just worked four years in the House with León Freddy Muñoz, a person with progressive ideals. He has defended a progressive government plan and accompanied us in the presidential campaign within the Green Party sector. I have no doubt that he is a person who comes to reinforce, based on his criteria, his ideology and what he has defended, the reforms of change. He has made this explicit, and from his political history it is evident that he is someone who comes to defend a progressive government plan. In the case of Temístocles, obviously, he is in the Cambio Radical party. He is a democratic person, and he, as a senator, had a democratic position in the First Commission, like those of us who saw his debates in the Senate. So I believe that he will continue in a line of independence, defending what he considers to be democratic principles.

One more vote comes, yes, I'm sure.

I think that this cabinet reshuffle had been announced since November. Before that, we were waiting for the announced reshuffle to take place. There are already some ministers who have been appointed by the President of the Republic and who have assumed their posts, such as the Minister of Transport, the Minister of Labor and the Minister of Culture, who has already been appointed as the new minister, not on an interim basis, but on a permanent basis. We are waiting for the final decision. President Gustavo Petro assured the country that it was not a complete shake-up, but that some people were going to remain in their portfolios. The new Minister of Defense, of course, I think that his appointment is good news, as I expressed publicly. I think that what comes next is the fulfillment of the program, therefore, accelerating the execution of the Government. It is very important that people know the goals of fulfilling the National Development Plan, the Government plan, and that we focus on moving forward, with great honesty, what we can. We must also defend the possibility of a second progressive government, not only based on the achievements of the government, but also with honesty, telling people what we can achieve in a second progressive government.

Maria Alejandra Gonzalez Duarte