The first-instance conviction of former President Álvaro Uribe has unleashed a furore in Colombia. On the one hand, some of the former president's defenders claim the decision is unfair and even call it an outrage, while his detractors have celebrated because, they say, impunity is over.
Jennifer Pedraza, representative to the House for the Dignity and Commitment party, spoke about this topic in El Debate of SEMANA and left a phrase that has attracted attention and in which she mentioned President Petro.
The congresswoman made it clear that this decision sends an important message to emphasize that in Colombia,"no one is above the law." In that sense, she asserted that this demonstrates that justice isn't just for those who wear"ruanas."
“It is very important to set a precedent where there is truly an investigation and where justice acts independently of whether it involves a former president, a judge, or a congressman,” he said.
For this reason, Pedraza emphasized that it is necessary for the same voices that a few days ago called for the protection of democracy and institutions to continue doing so, regardless of whether they agree with the judge's decision in the Uribe case.
The representative went further and questioned the senator of the Democratic Center, Paloma Valencia, for insinuating about the possibility of a “guarantee of impunity” for all presidents.
"Imagine what a president would be like governing with the certainty of impunity. In other words, presidents here, just because they've held that office, can't do whatever they want," he said.
The Dignity Party activist asserted that this would be "demolishing justice" in the country. In that sense, she applauded those who have raised their voices to defend themselves following due process. In fact, she went further and warned that any former president could take Uribe's place at any time if he commits crimes.
"We have to be very careful, because just as former President Uribe is there today, tomorrow it could be President Petro and hopefully everyone who is proven to have committed crimes in this country," he said.
Along these lines, Pedraza made it clear that no person, regardless of their name or position,"can look down on the justice system."
Finally, the representative took advantage of her intervention to question the Government of President Donald Trump, more specifically the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, for the position he took after the conviction against the natural leader of the Democratic Center.
"This is absolutely unacceptable. Colombia is a sovereign country, which we earned through a very long struggle, so that the United States can continue to believe that we are its backyard and interfere in judicial decisions ," he said.
"This is becoming a habit for the Trump administration because this is also happening in Brazil (…) I disagree, and I think all of Colombia should unite its voice," he concluded.
