Former minister Alejandro Gaviria changed his biography on Twitter: “Defender of freedom of expression”

Monday, February 27, the President Gustavo Petro announced that three members of his ministerial cabinet would be stepping down. Among these was the former head of the education portfolio, Alexander Gaviria, who spoke about what happened from their social networks.

“Democratic reformer. Defender of freedom of expression. Now I’m a former minister,” the former rector of Universidad de los Andes wrote in his biography on Twitter. His words have to do with the strong criticism he made about the health reform of the current administration and for which it is assumed that he eventually left the ministry.

Around 10:12 p.m., the former official released a trill thanking Gustavo Petro for his invitation to be part of his government. “My opinions have always had a constructive purpose within the framework of a pluralistic coalition government,” said the former minister. I will continue to express my opinion freely so that Colombia has the best possible reforms”.

Indeed, the Head of State during his speech invited the outgoing officials “from wherever they are, help us to build this social pact”. Likewise, he affirmed that his contributions in the entities have contributed to enriching the debate and initiating the changes for which the country has voted”.

The departure of three members of his ministerial cabinet corresponds to Alexandre Gaviria (Education), Marie-Isabelle Urrutia (Sports) and Patricia Ariza (Culture). None of the former officials were present at the Palace. For their part, the ministers ensured before snail radio that they were not personally informed of the decision.

As a replacement, Gustavo Petro decided to “appoint Aurora Vergara as Minister of Education and Astrid Rodriguez as Minister of Sports”. In the case of the Culture portfolio, the music teacher, Ignacio Zorro, will be the responsible minister.

Before the president’s decision became known, they dusted off on social media an interview they did with Alejandro Gaviria when he was a presidential candidate for the Coalition Centro Esperanza. The former rector of the Universidad de los Andes participated in the program of Jean also Gonzalezthe character created by comedian Alejandro Riaño.

“The first year, he appoints a good national unity cabinet, he fails to unite it, 6 or 8 months pass and, not much happens, the government is collapsingGaviria said during the interview. He also mentioned that the president would start “tweeting like crazy” generating a “conflict that is permanently created and the country’s agenda revolving around Petro’s Twitter.”

The truth is that the politician lasted six months in office – as he predicted – and his departure comes just after his critical position on health reform was tabled in the National Congress. He expressed his position taking into account that he was Minister of Health under the government of Juan Manuel Santos, from 2012 to 2018.

The Head of State began his speech on February 27 by mentioning the reforms that his administration has raised. “In a democracy, diversity of opinion is a value that I fully share,” Petro said, and assured that the changes he proposed require this debate in society as well as consensus within the government itself. even.

The President pointed out that “it change governance He will not give up reform to improve health, pensions and fair working conditions. While he said the goal is simple, “the how and the means are complex”. For this reason, they seek “fair, stable and responsible solutions among all”.

The speech ended with a call for a “national agreement” which federates all political forces, including trade unions, community associations, social and peasant organizations, etc. “We are at a decisive moment for our reforms and we need more cohesion and determination”, underlined the president.