Two moments from the video broadcast by Roger Suárez on social networks.
A few days ago, the name Roger Suárez emerged from anonymity and went viral on social networks thanks to a video of his political campaign with strong sexist content. The recording, originally published on Tik Tok, shows the upper bodies of two women dancing in shorts until they are interrupted by the candidate: “Anyone who becomes mayor will be a degenerate, I’m not for that.” Old yes, stubborn no.” It remains unclear what exactly the candidate means by this message, but the first conclusion is that his name is derived from Plato, Magdalene, the community he wants to rule and which is embroiled in criticism and controversy.
The video was heavily criticized for reproducing gender stereotypes and depicting women as objects. Before entering the election campaign with the support of the Colombian Democratic Party, a community of Palenquero origins that entered the political scene only a year ago, Suárez Gamarra had, paradoxically, joined the ministry’s victim participation table and, according to his online information , has training in human rights.
Days after the controversy, the candidate spoke out and reiterated his message: “The majority of people liked the way I do politics. “Other people have seen it in a negative light,” he told El Colombiano, claiming that Suárez highlighted that he had proposals in his government plan to ensure the inclusion of women and young people.
Suárez is running against 13 other candidates, including only two women, in a municipality with around 52,468 residents. “This type of advertising reinforces the stereotypes that already exist in everyday culture and are transferred to politics.” Political parties and campaigns, even if they are signatures, must take ethics seriously and eliminate these stereotypes. It is important that they do not allow these behaviors that increase gender-based violence and have political and public implications,” explains Luisa Salazar-Escalante, regional coordinator of the Center for Gender, Justice and Security at the University of the Andes.
Concern about this type of behavior is increasing in the regions at the beginning of the electoral period, since it is not the first time that something similar has happened in Colombian politics, as it happened in the 2018 presidential campaign of Germán Vargas Lleras, who used women in bikinis So far, neither the Colombian Democratic Party nor any of its members have commented on the matter, not even its leader, Pedro Adán Torres Pérez, who a few days ago was embroiled in another controversy over the support of Julián Bedoya, a former congressman from Antioquia , who was under investigation for irregularities. in his job title as a lawyer.
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