RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Duque is visiting Brazil on October 19 to meet Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. The Colombian chief executive says he intends to “talk about how to further strengthen trade, maintain the flow of tourists, and also about cooperation on health and the environment.”
The Colombian president says he is not worried about the negative image that Brazil may have abroad when the subject is the environment. “I don’t dwell on it in terms of perception,” he says.
“Brazil is a leading player in the global environmental agenda […] Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America and the Caribbean. No one can or should isolate Brazil, we must always work with Brazil,” he continues.
“One cannot politicize the environmental agenda, we have to continuously invite Brazil to play its role in this debate, and I think that this will is there. We have to move away from arguments that seek to ideologize the environmental agenda.”
Duque declares himself “extreme center” and says that both Colombia and Brazil are “countries that uphold democracy, the market economy with a social sense, the freedoms of its citizens.”
When asked if he would try to convince Bolsonaro to be “extreme center,” he answers only that he has “appreciation and respect for the President” of Brazil, whom he classifies as “a great friend” of Colombia.
“Since I took over the presidency [in 2018], I have interacted with president [Michel] Temer, with whom I had a great relationship, and I must also say that I have great appreciation and good relations with President Bolsonaro, who has always shown affection for Colombia,” he says.
“Beyond the tensions there and here, the important thing is that we have a strategic short-, medium- and long-term agenda that benefits both countries.”
Duque downplays both the loss of popularity and the protests he faced from April through May this year. In his opinion, “there is a phenomenon” all over the world.
“The phenomenon of the pandemic drop in popularity is being witnessed in Europe, in Latin America. One must also consider the role of social media, polarization, hate, everything seeks to alter public opinion,” he states.
“We have seen protests in Europe, in the United States, in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and in Brazil. On social networks, they seek to feed these feelings, but we also had sensible and peaceful expressions, which must be heard and heeded.”
Initially, the Colombian population took to the streets to take a stand against a tax reform that the government presented in Congress. Then, as the clashes between the military, police and civilians escalated, demonstrations were staged against the violence.
Duque says that although most of the demonstrations were peaceful, “strong action” was needed to contain the “terrorism, vandalism, and violence” seen in a number of protests.
“Governments do not survive on poetry,” Duque says. “We managed to pass the biggest tax reform of this century, with a tax collection of 1.8% of GDP, and the best social program in Colombia. Whoever governs thinking only of popularity creates disasters. We must take risks.”