Opponents of Juan Manuel Corzo have created a special 190,000 peso ($103) bill in honor of Colombia’s Senate President who says that that amount is enough for a Colombian family to live off for a month, reported Caracol Radio on Monday.
The Clean Hands Foundation, coordinated by writer Gustavo Bolivar, along with many social network followers will advance their opposition to Corzo with a public protest on Tuesday in Bogota at the historic Plaza de Bolivar.
Corzo, his opponents argue, should resign in the face of several recent controversies.
Bolivar explained that Colombians are outraged by several issues, the first being that the National Planning commission reported that a family earning $103 (190,000 COP) per month is not considered to be poor in Colombia. The decision was made public at Corzo’s presentation of a proposed legislative act which would provide all members of Congress with political immunity and the right to appeal.
Senator Corzo also stirred up controversy when he argued in early September that his $11,500 monthly salary is “physically and economically” impossible to sustain two cars, in defense of government-provided gas subsidies for members of Congress.
His comments were viciously opposed to by social network users, especially on Twitter, who were outraged at his hypocritical assertions.
Statistically speaking, members of Colombia’s Congress earn an annual salary that is nearly 20 times more than the average Colombian. Corzo, however, sustains that a Colombian family can live off of $103 dollars a month, while he couldn’t possibly fill his gas tank with $11,500.