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Andrés Pastrana is concerned about Venezuela. In his frequent interventions there is priority space to alert about the humanitarian crisis and advocate for actions that allow a democratic solution.
“Venezuela is experiencing today the worst tragedy of humanity”, he warned.
“To the pandemic of the coronavirus, Nicolás Maduro has added energy, water and gasoline rationing. What else do you want? Who can believe that there is a country without water, without light, without gasoline and also contaminated with covid-19? ”, He highlighted.
“Venezuelans do not have water, which is essential to avoid contamination. What is Maduro going to do if, for example, food arrives? How are they going to be distributed if they don’t even have gasoline? “ added.
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Pastrana, a 65-year-old lawyer, was president of Colombia between 1998 and 2002. On the outskirts of Bogotá, where he is undergoing quarantine for the new coronavirus, he attended El Nacional. The communication, via telephone, had startles. Connectivity does not escape the crisis.
Pastrana: “This is an unusual thing”
“We human beings never imagined that we would experience something like this. Who would have thought a month and a half ago that the world was going to close in this way, that it was going to freeze. This is an unusual thing ”, he assured.
Rich countries have all the resources, we are seeing it in the United States and in Europe, the way to face the economic crisis, to help entrepreneurs, small, medium and large
He believes that the pandemic shows more clearly the gap that exists between rich and poor nations. “Rich countries have all the resources, we are seeing it in the United States and in Europe, the way to face the economic crisis, to help entrepreneurs, small, medium and large. We poor countries are seeking to activate all mechanisms to see how and in what way we protect our economy. There is a very clear differentiation between strong and weak economies, “he said.
He noted that the same situation is reflected within each society. “With isolation, a good part of employment is being lost, this is the case in Colombia and the same in Venezuela. The informal sector, which is very important, is experiencing a drama. What do the hairdresser, the manicurist, the street vendor, the shoe shine live on? ”, Indian.
“Here you see that differentiation between sectors and classes,” he stressed.
Leadership will change
Pastrana stresses that things will not be the same after the pandemic: “I believe that a good part of the leadership in Colombia and Venezuela will change.”
He stated that in the world people are going to measure their leaders by results. “Maduro will be evaluated for how he faced the pandemic: how many died, how he supported small and medium-sized entrepreneurs with subsidies, the efficiency or inefficiency with which he moved. But also Juan Guaidó, because he has resources and has to move, “he said.
(Also read: Migrants return to Colombia after receiving threats in Venezuela)
He pointed out that getting out of this situation well is not easy for a ruler, and he detailed what happened in the United States, China, Spain or Italy. “We do not have weeks or days to make decisions, possibly they are minutes. This is where you will see who was thinking about their people or their interests ”, express.
Save lifes
Pastrana prioritizes the lives of Venezuelans and Colombians. For the former president, the situation created by the new coronavirus may aggravate the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and lead Colombia forward. In his opinion, minimum agreements must be reached so that this does not happen.
“I know that many friends of the opposition did not agree with me when a journalist colleague asked me: Would you be willing to speak to Maduro? What I said is that if we do not control the pandemic that may come from Venezuela, then there will be nothing left of what we Colombians are doing, ”he said.
“I proposed to create three transnational hospitals: one in the north, in La Guajira, in Paraguachón; another in Cúcuta and another in Arauca. Wuhan-type health centers, with 1,000 beds, which can be built in 15 days. We were going to ask the Americans for resources, that when I raised this, about a month ago, there was 5 billion dollars. This is not if Maduro stayed, it is how we saved the lives of Venezuelans and Colombians. He was going to work with the Maduro and Guaidó teams, and with the Colombian team, ”he added.
Talk to whomever it takes
The fact that Colombian President Iván Duque establishes bridges with the Maduro regime does not mean that he recognizes him as president, Pastrana assured: “They want to save lives, which is what is important. When you seek to free the kidnapped speak to the kidnapper. In this case, the kidnapper is Maduro and his regime, which has kidnapped Venezuela. ”
He indicated that the times to leave Maduro from power are decided by Venezuelans. “I think that the first thing is to save lives, that’s why I asked the Pan American Health Organization to give the real figures of the pandemic in Venezuela,” he said.
“For me the most important thing is the humanitarian issue,” he reiterated.
“People are starving. In Venezuela we already had a humanitarian tragedy. And that tragedy can also come to Colombia “, alerted.
“The important thing is to be able to save lives in Venezuela and Colombia. If we can save lives, why don’t we? Let’s leave the policy until later ”, he stressed.
Transition in Venezuela
He said he was not clear about the United States’ proposal for an emergency government in Venezuela, if General Vladimir Padrino López can be kept in charge of his position.
“You don’t understand what that transition is like,” he said.
He indicated that the Council of State, proposed by the Americans, can be integrated very quickly. “The advantage is that if that transitional government is done soon, without Maduro and without Guaidó as has been proposed, Much would be the humanitarian aid that could reach Venezuela, “he said.
Drug trafficking
Pastrana insisted on the possibility of spraying Colombia’s coca fields with glyphosate, since the population is protected in their homes due to quarantine. “Rich countries have all the resources, we are seeing it in the United States and in Europe, the way to face the economic crisis, to help entrepreneurs, small, medium and large, “he said.
“It is time to end drugs in Colombia. And if we end the drug here, the problem in Venezuela and the world ends, “he added.
Mr. president @IvanDuque do not miss the opportunity to go down in history as the president who timely and effectively faced the drug trafficking plague. Take advantage of quarantine and spray now.
– Andrés Pastrana A (@AndresPastrana_) April 23, 2020
The former president recommended the Duque government to be aggressive in the decisions to be made, since the economic crisis that may ensue is very serious. He made remarks to financial entities.
“The bank is not giving adequate answers to the people, I do not know if the same is lived in the rest of Latin America. It is important that banks reach out to Colombians “, he pointed.
Financial System must respond to society, to maintain its legitimacy: It would be good to periodically report to the public, not only to the Superintendency, the indicators that measure real progress in the operationalization of government measures to mitigate COVID-19
– Andrés Pastrana A (@AndresPastrana_) April 20, 2020
“The world changed us: to politicians, to businessmen; for everyone, the world changed ”, concluded.
GDA – THE NATIONAL OF VENEZUELA
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