Bogotá (EFE).- The Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, announced a profound remodeling of his cabinet that includes the change of seven of his ministers, among them some considered crucial, such as those of Finance, Interior and Health.
“Today a new cabinet is being built that will help consolidate the government program, a program that will be the basis of a frank and sincere national agreement to continue working at the service of communities throughout the country,” Petro said in a statement in which announced the relays.
Among the most notorious changes are those of the finance ministers, José Antonio Ocampo, considered a trusted name in the markets; that of the Interior, Alfonso Prada, and that of Health, Carolina Corcho, highly criticized by some sectors for her health reform project that was partly the trigger for the ministerial crisis.
The ministers of Agriculture, Cecilia López; Science, Arturo Luna; Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Sandra Urrutia, and Transportation, Guillermo Reyes, who was also criticized for managing the air crisis in the country.
The new ministers
The new ministers announced by Petro are: Finance, Ricardo Bonilla; Interior, Luis Fernando Velasco; Cheers, Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo; Agriculture, Jhenifer Mojica; Science, Yesenia Olaya; ICT, Mauricio Lizcano, and Transportation, William Camargo.
Lizcano, who was director of the Administrative Department of the Presidency (Dapre), was replaced by Carlos Ramón González.
Many of the new ministers were Petro’s secretaries during the time he was mayor of Bogotá between 2012 and 2015, as is the case of Bonilla, Jaramillo and Camargo.
Petro pointed out that the change, which occurs one day after he asked his entire cabinet to resign by protocol, is due to the difficulties that his government program, and especially his social reforms, have encountered in Congress, where the Historical Pact, the left-wing coalition that led him to the Presidency, does not have majorities.
“Despite the fact that my cabinet, and its commitment to dialogue and the pact, was rejected by some traditional and establishment political leadership, we are going to persist with our program and our vocation for great national agreements,” added the president.
With the exception of Carolina Corcho, who is very close to Petro, and Alfonso Prada, most of the ministers leaving the cabinet are members of or close to the Liberal, Conservative, and U parties, which do not support the reform project in Congress. of health presented by the Government.
The entry Petro changes seven of its ministers, including those of Finance and Health, was first published in EFE Noticias.