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In an interview, Juanita Goebertus denies the rumor that she has presidential intentions and assures that the country is facing a “critical crossroads in its history” ahead of the 2022 elections.
Juanita Goebertus is going through her first and last term in the Congress of the Republic. She is the representative of the Chamber for Bogotá, and one of the most prominent according to the results of the Opinion Panel 2020, of Figures and Concepts. Despite having 16% acceptance from those surveyed, for his work in the capitol, last Tuesday he announced that he will not aspire to obtain a seat again in the 2022 elections.
In an interview with The viewer, Goebertus remains in his announcement, denies the rumor of his presidential intention, indicates that a center-left coalition is possible and names some of the figures with whom he would like to build that alliance, among them, Alejandro Gaviria, rector of the University of the Andes.
You have said that you will not run for Congress again. How do you define work in the legislature during your only term? Between the push and pull of the debates on each project, is Congress a space where initiatives can be carried out? Or do they not let work? as Angélica Lozano once said off guard.
All citizens should have the responsibility to provide a kind of social service in Congress for at least one period. Congress is a difficult space but you learn a lot about public policy and from the hand of a professional and quality team, there is plenty of space to give in-depth debates and move forward with bills.
Why do you leave? You have already answered it, but don’t you think that a period is too little time to consolidate and carry out large-scale initiatives?
I still have a year and a half left in Congress and I will continue to fulfill my duties with all rigor and transparency. At the end of that term, we will have carried out very important initiatives on issues of peace, the fight against corruption, and regional integration between Bogotá and Cundinamarca. After my term, I believe that I will be able to continue contributing from the executive branch.
Do you want to run for the presidency or be the formula for a candidate?
No. I lack a lot of experience to assume a presidential candidacy and I believe that the vice-presidential formula should come from who obtains the second result in the consultation that we hold in March 2022.
But he has spoken of a center-left coalition. And the chips, although early, have already begun to move … Several congressmen have resigned from their parties, others speak of the liberal Social Democratic caucus. How do you get in there to play?
In my opinion, the first step should be the construction of a government program. I have been working on it from the party’s program committee. It is not only about proposing candidates and electoral procedures, but about putting on the table concrete ideas on how to solve the main problems of the country. From there the idea is to carry out an inter-party consultation and inter-signatures in March 2022.
I insist on the question. Who has he approached or how the coalition he talks about is being built. Who does it integrate? What is it about?
We are in that process. In the green party there are several candidates and our priority is to establish a mechanism to choose one of them: Iván Marulanda, Camilo Romero, Antonio Sanguino and Sandra Ortiz. Outside of the green there are also wonderful candidates whom I admire a lot like Sergio Fajardo, Humberto De La Calle, Juan Manuel Galán, Ángela María Robledo and Jorge Robledo. There are conversations going on with them and other candidates. I also dream of being able to bring someone like Alejandro Gaviria, for example, to a center and center-left consultation.
You are one of the parliamentarians who has followed the implementation of the Agreement the most. It is their flag. Broadly speaking, how are things and in this last part of the year what is still missing to implement, which should be one of the most advanced issues?
Progress in the implementation of the Peace Agreement is still very precarious. 39% of the implementing rules for the Peace Agreement have not yet been processed. The investments that have been made in the PDETs represent only 1.52% of what we would have to invest per year in order to transform these territories in 15 years. 71.3% of the ex-combatants have not yet had access to a productive project financed by the Government. And only 2.1% of the families that voluntarily eradicated crops have been linked to a productive project. If we do not advance much more decisively in these goals, these territories will destabilize us.
The implementation of the Agreement will undoubtedly be one of the most controversial and polarizing issues in the 2022 electoral contest, which is already beginning. A workhorse. That, added to the political violence and against social leaders and ex-combatants. How do you see the panorama?
The country is facing a critical crossroads in its history. The deterioration of territorial security, unemployment, the increase in poverty and the deterioration of our biodiversity demand collective action, leadership and experience. A fundamental part of the solution is to seriously implement the Peace Agreement in the rural territories most affected by war and poverty.
What is your assessment of the opposition? Not only as a force against the Government, but also as a bloc that historically has known how to divide rather than unite for the presidential elections. To be honest, how possible do you see, so far, that coalition you are talking about?
Between the opposition and independent parties there are many nuances and differences. But we have managed to build a coalition to stop the government’s attacks on the Peace Agreement. I believe that it is possible to strengthen that alliance by 2022.
What role have women played in the opposition? And how do you see the relationship with other congresswomen … Has the gender issue been strengthened in the Capitol? I ask this because the bills that deal with the woman’s body have generated strong discussion.
Congress remains a deeply macho place. Despite being half the population, we are only 19% of the Chamber. We have fought tough battles in this legislature on issues such as parity, changing the order of surnames, and shared maternity and paternity leave. Discriminatory phrases are never lacking in the debate. But I am proud that three women occupy the three best positions in the evaluation of the Representatives to the House of the opinion panel of Figures and Concepts.
Finally, you are a green congressman and we are seeing a lot of effects on the territory of climate change. What happened in Providencia, Dabeiba, cried. What decisions as a country should there be to face the effects of global warming.
Colombia cannot continue to face the dilemmas of sustainable development without recognizing that we are the second most biodiverse country in the world. Protecting that biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides must be a top priority for the next government. It is essential to take seriously our commitments to mitigate and adapt to climate change, since – although we are not one of the countries that contribute the most with greenhouse gas emissions – we are one of the most vulnerable to its effects, with extreme weather events. like floods and droughts.
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