Colombian President Gustavo Petro said attempts to restrict his social reforms could lead to “revolution,” and asked for the nation to support him during a speech from Bogotá on Monday.
(Bloomberg) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro said attempts to restrict his social reforms could lead to “revolution,” and asked for the nation to support him during a speech from Bogotá on Monday.
“The attempt to restrict the reforms can lead to a revolution,” Petro told supporters from a balcony of the presidential palace. “What is needed in any case is that the people are mobilized.”
In front of hundreds of supporters, Petro blasted private health insurers and pension fund managers, saying the former shouldn’t manage public money while accusing the latter of not granting retirement compensations.
The leftist president unexpectedly ousted seven ministers last week, including his market-friendly finance chief, Jose Antonio Ocampo, who he replaced with Ricardo Bonilla, a close ally. A break in Petro’s government coalition will likely harm his ability to pass far-reaching reforms to the health, labor, and pension systems.
Petro said he had no intention of backing down in his bid to reform the nation’s welfare system and blamed Colombia’s elites for holding up his agenda.
“They believed that Petro cornered would drop the idea of the great transformation, the idea of social change,” Petro said in the Labor Day commemoration. “It seems to me that this is not our destiny, that we are not here for that, that our function in the history of Colombia is different, that of achieving success in the reforms.”
Petro has seen his popular support fade, with his disapproval rating rising to 57% in April, from 51% in February, according to an Invamer poll.
Colombian assets tumbled last week after the political turmoil, with the peso falling 4.5% through Friday, the worst performer in emerging markets.
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