President Gustav Petro he spoke for the first time to all his ministers. Minutes after the official event in which he was sworn in as Head of State, Petro entered the Casa de Nariño and offered another short speech in which he emphasized the need to deliver what was promised and avoid corruption.
“We cannot fail. This is the Government of change, and the change is real. It is not rhetorical or discursive. It is real”, said the president when addressing, for the first time since his inauguration, the cabinet that will accompany him from today.
After appointing 17 of his ministers, Petro came to the Presidency with almost his entire cabinet formed, but he still needs to appoint the head of the Ministry of Science.
Leading them, the president warned that he will ensure that there is no corruption in his government and admitted that that crime also occurs in leftist governments.
“Ideologies are not a filter for corruption: they occur on the left and on the right. We must take care of that because we are being watched by the entire country and the world,” he said.
At another point in his speech he referred to the age of his ministers, which has been criticized by some sectors because it was expected that in his circle he would have younger profiles.
For this reason, he recommended to the heads of portfolios that appoint young people and trained women in the vice-ministeries, Well, “it is to these young people aged 18 and over that we owe this triumph in the Presidency.”
Finally, President Petro spoke of reforming the Administrative Department of the Presidency, so that it has less power, and the Administrative Department for Social Prosperity.
In both cases, he assured that the burdens must be redistributed with the other ministries so that there is a true balance of powers.