“There are no bills to pay. We have to create now ”: Alvaro reveals details of meeting with Gustavo Petrov

President-elect Gustavo Pedro and former President Alvaro Eurip marked a milestone in Colombian politics on June 29. Politicians debated for more than an hour in the office of attorney Hector Karwajal, and although the venue did not reach program agreements, it did shed light on how to reconcile the country and reduce polarization.

Uribe mentioned the meeting in the middle of a press conference. In it, he was questioned about Pedro and the opposite attacks. The former president recalled some specific discussions with the elected president, to which he responded with a smile. Later, he argued, this was not the time to think about revenge, but to reach agreements.

“There are no bills to pay. Now we have to build, ”said Uribe.

Uribe’s position, so far, seems compromised. In fact, he promised to thank Petro for inviting him to a meeting because the party he founded, the Democratic Center, was the country’s fourth electoral force since the first election. He said that this would put him in a difficult situation and that he appreciated the compromising attitude.

He also mentioned that he is ready to work for the country in this regard. According to both politicians, one of the main problems is putting an end to poverty. With this in mind, Eurib promised to improve the quality of low-interest flags, but recalled that the private sector’s promotional vision could not be lost.

“We express the fact that we share all efforts to accelerate the recovery of the country from poverty. But it can not be costly to crush the private sector. That policy will become unsustainable and lead us further into poverty,” Eurip said.

On the economic issue, he talked about taxes, and said they should be “friendly” and “without exaggerated costs”. According to him, this is important “The taxpayer pays happily”.

Mention was also made of pensions. “I think President Pedro is making good progress on pensions for the elderly,” he said, but pointed out that the Democratic Center’s concern was an end to the pension fund.

At other points where Pedro and Eurie addressed, they also talked about reopening the border with Venezuela and relations with the Nicolas Maduro regime. Since he began his political campaign, the president-elect has said he will reopen conversation channels with neighbors, but Uribe and the Colombian right in general disagree.

Uribe hopes that these positions will not change after the conversation, but that a consensus will be reached that will have a positive impact, especially on the border population.

“We know President Petro is going to normalize relations with Venezuela. I expect this to be a fact. There are two issues of concern that will be addressed to you, ”the former president said.

The former president said that although he knew that Uribe and Petro and the political movements they represented would not reach a full agreement because they had different ideological policies, they were willing to negotiate without reaching a consensus. Uribe said he would hold talks with the elected president.

“For my part, in terms of arguments and respect, the most important thing is the channels of conversation with the president. I always like when the conversation is honest. Let it be controversy, let it be opposition. You have to approach it with principles, but without evil attitudes ”, Europe said.

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