“Forty years ago, the United States would have done anything to prevent Gustavo Petro from being elected and, once elected, would have done anything to sabotage his project. They were Cold War policy.” Thus began his intervention in front of more than 2,000 Colombian businessmen, Juan González, a native of Cartagena who speaks in the ear of US President Joe Biden and is a White House adviser on the Western Hemisphere.
An acknowledgment of a reality that other countries in the region have experienced directly has helped González say that these policies “are, to some extent, a justification for some of revisionist perspectives that characterize United States politics in the context of local manifestation of an empire”.
The US government official has assured the Colombian Economic Congress (CEC) that today this relationship is different. “Just as politics needs to evolve, so does collaboration need to evolve. As we recognize that this was a legitimately elected government based on change and given the importance of Colombia, we have prepared to steer this change and communicate our interests in a direct and constructive manner,” said González, expressing his willingness has signaled to work with the President and with the private sector.
The Cartagena statement was delivered in front of an audience full of industrialists who are also trying to “navigate” the change that the first left-wing government in Colombia means. Biden’s adviser has made it clear: “It doesn’t matter what ideology or what the political spectrum of a government is. If he is elected and governs democratically, we will advance on issues of common concern. We will also share our concerns with them.”
González has assured that Latin America is “a strategic reserve for the United States” because it is the region where there are more democratic countries, “where there are no wars” and “whose prosperity and stability allow the United States to take on a leadership role”. role on a global scale.”
Just four days ago, in his inaugural speech, Petro criticized drug policy, in which the United States plays a key role. “(The War on Drugs) left a million Latin Americans murdered in those 40 years, and what remains? 70,000 Americans die from drug overdoses every year,” the president said, explaining it was a failure because “it strengthened the mafia and weakened states.”
The Colombian President is also committed to the energy transition, a point on which the US seems to agree. Biden’s adviser said the region was one of the “most unjust in the context of political and economic concentration”; that it is not adopting technology as quickly as it should; and that it is one of “the regions with the greatest reliance on traditional energy as the world is in the process of a global energy transition. “Colombia is the culmination of all these challenges, but the one that offers the greatest chance of being overcome. The President (Biden) has said that because of its location, it’s the cornerstone of the Caribbean,” he said.
Speaking of the energy transition, he reiterated that the Petro government had invited them to participate in peace talks, without specifying whether it was to implement the agreement already in place with the FARC or to seek dialogue with the FARC go ELN, the last active guerrilla in Colombia. “The government has invited us to participate in the ethnic chapter of the peace agreement,” González said in a virtual broadcast. Noting that the United States is interested in working for Afro and Indigenous communities so they are not “a pawn in armed conflict,” he concluded, saying that “there is a lot of optimism” about that work give government to the new.
“Indeed, we are also looking for an opportunity to learn from the experience of Colombians and to continue to prove that simply maintaining a bilateral relationship is best for us, because Colombia has not only regional but also global impact and is influenced by the.” world respects.” , he claimed.
Roy Barreras: “I came to give guarantees”
The vision of the United States is just one of those heard by the more than 2,000 business leaders gathered at the Cartagena Convention Center. They’re doing it the week that Gustavo Petro’s government begins and tax reform, the anti-fracking law, energy transition and overtime changes, among others, are under discussion. On this platform, which runs through Friday, they will discuss with the new executive branch the challenges they face and the vulnerabilities of global geopolitics.
The industrialists have announced that they will remain vigilant and constructive towards the Petro government’s policies. “We will accompany the initiatives that Colombia needs and, in situations that justify it, we will offer our constructive criticism, certain that this will lead to better decisions for the good of all,” said Carlos Ignacio Gallego, President of Grupo Nutresa and from the board of Grupo Nutresa, the Andi.
Gallego has listed global challenges such as inflation, armed conflict and the post-pandemic era, explaining that this international context coincides with the new government in Colombia. “I welcome the new government. We face the challenge of building trust to work with the new government on the two-way highway, fighting poverty, but doing it with business development. Entrepreneurs will be defenders of human dignity, values and principles,” he said.
Bruce Mac Master, President of the National Association of Entrepreneurs of Colombia (ANDI), also sent a message to Petro. “We hope to have an open and sincere dialogue with the government, thinking about the future and the well-being of all Colombians,” stressed Mac Master at the beginning of the event, which will end this Friday with President Gustavo Petro. It would be the first time the President has appeared publicly before the business community.
For now, the advanced government came to the meeting in the voice of Roy Barreras, Congress President and a fellow Petro supporter. When asked about tax reform, the issue that most mobilizes business people at the moment, the senator did not give any concrete answers, but wanted to convey calm and pointed out that the transitions will be moderate and progressive. “This is not the time for improvisation.”
“Rely on that in Congress there will be balance and guarantees for all, conditions for an intensive dialogue. We have one year for the most important reforms and if they don’t listen to the voice of the two halves of Colombia, we have failed. Providing guarantees for everyone is my commitment and I wanted to say that,” concluded Barreras.
Entrepreneurs eagerly await more details on the country’s economic direction this Thursday, when Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo is set to deliver Petro’s letter to quell business fears.
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