“I am the first to tell him head-on to retire”: Tomás Uribe on his father, Álvaro Uribe Vélez

Many reactions have been awakened by the interview that Tomás Uribe Moreno, son of former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez, gave to Semana magazine, which was revealed this weekend. Among the many topics he touched on, his response to the question about the validity of his father’s political life, and even his role as grandfather, drew attention.

“I am the first to tell him up front to retire to dedicate himself to my children. I tell him to retire, but it is with family selfishness, “he told the Colombian weekly. To reinforce his argument, he assured that the Uribe are traditionally businessmen and that his father is among the few exceptions. “We were entrepreneurs before Uribe was president, we were during his presidency, during Santos’, during Duque’s and we hope to continue being so,” he explained.

On his eventual candidacy in 2022

There are less than two years until the next presidential elections in Colombia and from now on the political sectors begin to launch their ‘bishops’ on the attack. One of the most popular names since Uribe, in recent weeks, to succeed Iván Duque Márquez in the Casa de Nariño is Tomás Uribe Moreno himself, son of Álvaro Uribe Vélez, former president and mentor of the current head of state.

In the interview with Semana magazine, the moderators emphatically asked Thomas Uribe If he will accept the proposal that the members of the Democratic Center – whose political leader is his father – make him jump into the ring in the 2022 elections. Uribe Moreno assured that he likes to be a businessman and that in the last two decades this is what he has dedicated himself to with his brother. He clarified that he does not know about jam, about Congress and about his plans “There is no candidacy.”

Despite this response, journalists Vicky Dávila and Jairo Lozano again insisted on asking if their answer is a resounding “no”. Uribe Moreno said that what he knows is to create a company, “I don’t know about politics, I don’t know about electoral codes,” he clarified, and once again he ratified that within his plans is not be linked “to the public sector”, and argued that his philosophy of life is aimed at focusing because “one cannot be dispersed in a thousand things at the same time because he does nothing well”said the chemical engineer by profession.

The panel questioned the reply of the former president’s son and even told him that his decision to the candidacies would be recorded, that if in a few months he would change his mind. But nevertheless, Uribe Moreno again emphasized: “I can genuinely tell you that I have no plans to get into politics.”He also added that at this moment he seeks to mend his father’s reputation in the middle of the judicial process he faces.

‘Nobody gave a peso for Duque’

On other issues, the son of Álvaro Uribe and Lina Moreno, referred to the possible candidates for ‘Uribismo’ in the next elections and assured that Colombians should be aware of the young political promises that the Democratic Center has at this time. “They are young leaders who lack visibility.” The businessman says that these individuals are a case similar to that of the current president of the country: “four years ago no one gave a weight for Iván Duque and he began to rise in the polls in January 2018.”

“The Democratic Center has been the retaining wall of socialism in Colombia”

Fajardo: neo-socialist and supporter of Santos

Uribe Moreno also gave his perspective on another political contender from the Democratic Center in ‘el 22’: Sergio Fajardo. The son of the former senator was dispatched against the former mayor of Medellín and said that in the last elections Fajardo “He went on the side of neo-socialism, and now he is going on the side of Santismo.” Likewise, he questioned the actions of the political leader by saying that he would not participate again in the elections and is now aspiring to participate in the electoral contest. He also criticized the candidate’s age because “he says it is the renewal of politics, but he is almost 70 years old.”

Tomás Uribe attacked the former presidential candidate with all, said that Fajardo promotes the policy of transparency “But he has been pulling the strings of power in Antioquia for 20 years” and questioned the millionaire that, according to him, Sergio was spent on advertising when he was governor. Likewise, he predicted a gloomy outlook if the mathematician wins in 2022:

“-Sergio Fajardo will be- an academic version of Santos: bureaucracy, jam, discussions and theoretical speeches that do not solve the real problems of the country. Hypocrisy ”, questioned the son of former President Uribe.

Petro: bad mayor and Chavista experiment

Uribe Moreno also criticized the pronouncements and actions of Senator Gustavo Petro. He says that the leader of Human Colombia cannot brand him and his family as exercising a hereditary democracy when Petro Urrego has promoted his son’s political career in the Atlantic. “I think Dr. Petro was betrayed by his subconscious,” said Tomás.

When asked about how he thinks a mandate from the leftist candidate will be, Uribe’s eldest son and owner of the Zona Franca de Occidente company used Petro’s district mandate in Bogotá as an example: “It was a small Chavista experiment,” said Uribe Moreno, who recalled some controversies in the Petro administration when the Colombian capital was mayor: the city full of garbage, “the waste, the parallel payroll. (…) His time in Bogotá was quite disappointing ”.

The chemical engineer “made use of” the arguments that the Uribe party has against Gustavo Petro: “Colombia will be like Venezuela.” Petro should not win “if we want to avoid the path of Chavismo, neo-socialism and socialism in disguise.” In addition, he accused the progressive candidate of selling false conceptions and hiding behind “A socialist project that seeks to strengthen the bureaucracy so that it becomes the support of a totalitarian regime that lasts for decades like Hugo Chávez’s project. A failure”.

Duque: less taxes and tough on drug trafficking

Tomás, just 39 years old and who has had an important participation in the industrial and livestock sector of Colombia, said that President Duque’s mandate has been excellent because “he lowered taxes, finished the jam, stopped the growth of drug crops.” However, Uribe Moreno exhorted the president’s cabinet to lead with assertiveness and celebrate the “stupendous blows to criminality.” Tomás told Duque that he must give more importance to social leaders and support the population.

Santos: setback for Colombia

They could not miss the appreciations of the Uribe, staunch detractors of the mandate of Juan Manuel Santos. Tomás criticized the peace process with the FARC that the former president led and revealed figures that, according to him, show that the Santos administration was “an absolute setback.” In addition, the son of former president Uribe Vélez said that after Santos became president, Colombia once again became a narco-state. “Santos was a setback because he also filled the country with bureaucracy, jam, raised taxes and VAT to 19 percent.”

Tomás Uribe also gave his position in front of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), questioned the work of justice, the money that is invested in these issues and concluded on this point saying: “I think that if the FARC are not going to pay jail time, it is better to give them an amnesty, they have already demobilized; forgive them everything, swallow that toad and save us that JEP talk ”.

Finally, Tomás Uribe referred to the accusations against him and his brother in relation to their entrepreneurial actions and said that after investigations and audits everything came out in order and that the accusations were false. He also referred to his father’s freedom and said that he expects transparency from the Prosecutor’s Office and that he tries to be objective despite the fact that he adores his father, the saying of “has to be seen to be believed”. In addition, in the final paragraphs he referred to Senator Iván Cepeda and He said that he perceives hatred from him towards his family and considers him to be “the most important leader of the new generation of the Farc.”