Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro laid out his government’s arguments in favor of a major overhaul of Colombia’s constitution.
Petro’s new interior minister, Juan Fernando Cristo, said that he would begin a “national dialogue” to convince the country’s voters and political leaders to support a constituent assembly.
The president has been calling for a constituent assembly for months, despite opposition from traditional politicians, the president of the Constitutional Court and some renowned legal experts.
According to Petro, multiple “counterreforms” changed essential elements of the constitution that took force in 1991, the president said on social media platform X.
These alleged counterreforms pulled the necessary financing from the public education system set forth in the constitution, revoked promised agrarian reforms and allowed paramilitary and neoliberal forces to hijack Colombia’s political system, according to Petro.
The president additionally claimed that Congress, which also has the authority to amend the constitution, has failed to push forward constitutional amendments that would have allowed timely reforms of the justice system, political and electoral reforms, the implementation of a peace deal with the now-defunct guerrilla group FARC, and the rights of women, workers, ethnic and sexual minorities.
The constitution also failed to allow Congress to respond to major events that happened after 1991, said Petro.
For example, the climate crisis requires profound changes in water management that weren’t an issue 33 years ago, according to the president.
Last but not least, the constitution and its amendments failed to bring peace to Colombia, said Petro.
One of the main tasks of the new interior minister will be convincing Congress and voters to support a constituent assembly.
According to the current constitution, only Congress can call for a constituent assembly. The people will subsequently have to express their support for this in a referendum.
Opponents of the proposal have claimed that the current constitution allows Congress to make changes without the need for an assembly that would upend the entire political system.