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Tomorrow, July 20, the President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro, will inaugurate the third legislative body of the Congress of the Republic, where he will surely summarize his presidency and his priorities for the second half of the year. In line with the announcements of recent weeks, the President will present the legislative proposals that will form the core of his recovery strategy, which include the mandatory investment plan.
Likewise, the Government will continue to implement the economic agenda discussed previously during the parliamentary session. The continuation of the labor standards reform process includes, among other things, the announced but not yet finalized texts of the health system and public service system reforms. The above is achieved within the framework of two recently launched initiatives: the insistence on the convening of the Constituent Assembly and the fast track implementation of the Peace Agreement through economic and fiscal means.
In other words, the third legislature, like the first two, has a high economic component, is in the process of slowing down the productive apparatus, and its prospects are fraught with uncertainty and insecurity. The problem is that Casa Nariño, in the middle of its four-year term, does not have the same political and communication capabilities as it did at the beginning of its administration. The legislative ambitions of the Petro government – with so many fronts and strategies at the same time – have a high probability of breaking the bank.
It is worth remembering the political “wisdom of public opinion” regarding executive-legislative relations during the four-year administration. Analysts and veterans of those parliamentary processes say the first year of a four-year period is a year in which the administration advances its agenda; the second is a sharing of control between the remainder of the executive agenda and Congress; the third belongs to Congress, which is preparing to re-elect seats and exert pressure on the executive, and the fourth is an election year and does not belong to “anyone.”
Clearly, relations between the Petro government and the members of Congress have completely strayed from this script, and today, on the brink of the launch of the third legislature, the House of Nariño is suddenly presenting a large and ambitious legislative agenda at a different pace and on multiple fronts. To the above, we must add the growing corruption scandal in the RMS, which now involves not only the members of Congress but also the Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla himself.
The head of the national government’s economic team must quickly dispel these serious accusations, as his ability to lead the economic portfolio in the legislature and contribute to the restart strategy could be affected. While President Petro’s speech tomorrow in Congress could clarify priorities, paths and objectives, both economically and politically, the third legislative body puts the onus on MPs to discuss the restart package, the fast track of fiscal impact, pending reforms, new reform projects, without forgetting the necessary political control.
The country’s eyes are once again on the legislators, who hold the key to debate and define, this time with more responsibility and maximum transparency, a coordinated restart route, not one of coercion and with respect for the role of private initiatives and companies.
Francisco Miranda Hamburg
framir@portafolio.co
X: @pachomiranda
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