When Gustavo Petro reviews in a week everything he experienced during his first year in charge of Colombia you will feel exhausted. Much noise and little progress for the “Government of Change”the same one that promised new ways of doing politics and a fierce fight against corruption.
The first anniversary of Petro in Casa de Nariño thus comes with the outbreak of the most serious scandal of a surprising list, which also has his firstborn son as the protagonist. A torpedo to the waterline of the Historical Pact, punctuated by disagreements and struggles that have also affected its popularity: from 20% disapproval at the beginning of his term to the current 61%, according to Invamer. And with 70% of citizens convinced that the country is getting worse.
Yesterday the weight of history fell on the 74th Court of Guarantee Control of Bogotá, after the first arrest of a president’s son in functions. The Prosecutor’s Office, after five months of investigations, accuses the deputy Nicolás Petro, 37, and his ex-wife, Day Vasquezillicit enrichment and money laundering.
The judge must decide in the next few hours whether to prosecute the couple and whether they remain in preventive prisonin a case revealed in March by the magazine Week what can it bring sentences of up to 30 years in prisonaccording to local media.
“The seizure measure is not illegal, but it could be a hasty action. This is important, understanding the political dispute between the prosecutor and Petro,” explained the columnist. David Gonzalez Escobar to EL MUNDO, after criticism from the ruling party.