Bogota Mayor Samuel Moreno said accusations of patronage by Colombia’s
anti-corruption czar were motivated by partisanship from elements
within President Alvaro Uribe’s circle preparing for a third term in
office.
Moreno said Oscar Ortiz’ criticisms were hatched by factions around Uribe who suddenly rediscovered Bogota as they turned their sights to the presidential race.
“The funniest thing is that they have done absolutely nothing for Bogota and now, they’ve remember that the city existed,” said Moreno. “They’re just after the votes of Bogota residents.”
Moreno said that some on his current staff had worked as part of his campaign team, but all of them met the qualifications for the jobs they hold.
Moreno said the criticisms also stemmed from opponents who were “orphaned from power” after his Polo Democratico party took the Bogota mayor’s chair.
“We encourage criticism. Let them critique our government program,” he said. “But don’t pretend we govern with the same program that lost at the ballot box. That is ridiculous, absurd, the world backwards.”
He also invoked literature as part of his defense.
“In Cervantes’ work, Don Quixote, Quixote told his loyal squire Sancho Panza:”They bark Sancho, so we ride…Let them keep barking, we’ll continue to ride toward constructing a Bogota that is the capital of rights.