00:01The president-elect should not be sworn in in a military zone.
00:05During the campaign, then-candidate Abelardo de la Espriella sought to position himself
00:10as the defender of institutionalism, democracy, and the constitution.
00:15In his speeches he said that his opponent, Senator Iván Cepeda, represented the way
00:21towards a breakdown in the separation of powers, while he was going to guarantee respect
00:27to the civil tradition, beyond the discussions about the validity or not of its
00:32criticisms, towards Cepeda.
00:34The question now is whether that important promise will be kept.
00:40Receiving his mandate in a military garrison, as he has proposed to do, would be sending a
00:45a message very far removed from that promise.
00:48To begin with, the president-elect has already made the same mistake as outgoing president Gustavo.
00:53Petro. After a long tradition of civilian defense ministers, the current president
00:59He appointed Pedro Sánchez at a time of chaos within his government.
01:04Now, the designated defense minister is retired General Jorge Eduardo Mora.
01:11Beyond Sánchez and Mora's capabilities to hold the position, the problem
01:17It is a symbolic one. Military forces, in their contemporary version, are designed
01:23to not participate in government or be deliberative.
01:27This is a national and global learning experience from the years in which the army and forces
01:33Police forces were used to persecute opponents of the governments.
01:37The 1991 Constitution made an explicit effort to create mechanisms to guarantee that the
01:46Civil institutions must be respected by the military, regardless of who
01:51occupy the Casa de Nariño.
01:53In that context, the proposal to hold the presidential inauguration at a garrison
01:59The military violates that constitutional principle.
02:02The president-elect's team has sold the idea as an opportunity to
02:08to pay tribute to the military forces, which is well deserved.
02:12However, actively involving the military in an event of this nature
02:18This policy sends a message contrary to its required subordination to civil power.
02:24Receiving the presidential sash is the culmination of an electoral process and that is why it is done before
02:30another democratic and civil body, the Congress of the Republic.
02:35Introducing the military into that dynamic is not paying them homage, but throwing them out.
02:42to the political debate, damage his image among all Colombians and awaken unnecessary fears
02:48in the opposition.
02:50As he mentioned in an interview with El Espectador, the senator from the Democratic Center,
02:55Rafael Nieto, and I quote, in the history of Colombia, only three heads of government
03:01They have taken possession of a barracks.
03:04José María Melo, Tomás Cipriano de Pósquera and Gustavo Rojas Pinillo, the three dictators.
03:11The message is very bad.
03:13It's unfortunate.
03:15Of course, the president-elect's goal is not to stage a coup, but that's why
03:22He himself must reconsider his intentions.
03:27The Senate already threw a possible lifeline to the next government this week.
03:31This week they approved the move to Cauca for the presidential inauguration.
03:37Nowhere does it say that it has to be done inside a military garrison.
03:42The message of decentralization and of reclaiming a department that is experiencing several crises is
03:48important.
03:49There, the president-elect's team can hold a civic event and send a message
03:55of unity that the country needs.
03:58The tribute to the soldiers and police officers, necessary and just, can be carried out immediately afterward.
04:05in ceremonies appropriate for that purpose.
04:07To avoid sowing more fear and division, let us not forget that our democracy is, in essence, civilian.
04:16If you agree with this editorial, please send your 500-word counter-editorial to
04:37also, in essence, civilist.
04:37If you agree with this editorial, send your 500-word counter-editorial to agar.
04:38In other words, if you agree with this editorial, send your counter-editorial of 500.
04:38It can be done in a straight line in a planned case.
04:39Thank you so much.
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