Colombia’s opposition Green Party, whose candidate made it to the second round in this year’s presidential elections, on Tuesday said it supports 80% of the policies proposed by the government of President Juan Manuel Santos.
The party’s president, Luis Eduardo Garzon, along with the party’s members of Congress, met with the president on Tuesday to discuss the government’s policies and the party’s involvement in the congressional opposition.
Garzon told Caracol Radio that, depite the small party’s agreement with the majority of Santos’ policy, it prefers to take part in politics from the opposition benches.
“Our position will continue to be independent, not accompanying the government under pressure of [political] positions or contracts, but to accompany the government with some criticism and observations we have regarding the 18 projects that currently are on the political agenda,” Garzon said.
According to its president, the Green Party welcomes the dialogue between Santos and the opposition, but Garzon stressed that for his party there are weaknesses in the government’s plans to reform the country’s political and judicial systems.
Following the meeting, Santos also said he was content with the outcome.
“We identified some some issues on which we can work together and I think that is the spirit with which we all should be working; respecting the differences, respecting the disagreement. But if we agree on the basics that is what is important and that is what will allow us to meet the goals,” Santos was quoted as saying on the President’s Office website.
The Greens are one of few parties in the small minority opposition in Congress.