Speech
Abelardo de la Espriella  ·  2026-09-17 12:30

El Gobierno le habla a la Patria: Gobierno corrige el rumbo - Directiva 02 garantiza atención

Colombians, today I want to talk to you about the rights of millions of citizens that the Constitution protects in a special way, people with disabilities, women, ethnic communities and other subjects of special constitutional protection, and about the negligence with which the previous government left those rights hanging by a thread. Let's begin. In May 2024, the Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the law that created the Ministry of Equality and Equity and gave the State a generous period, two legislatures counting from July 2024, to calmly reorganize the functions of that entity without leaving anyone unprotected. That time was meant to be for doing things right. The previous government had two full years to plan an orderly transition. And what did he do with that time? Nothing. On June 19, with the deadline practically expired, it issued the liquidation decree without defining, determining and implementing any mechanism to relocate the programs, projects and resources of that entity. They had two years to plan and what they left behind was a ministry being liquidated in mid-air without anyone knowing where the programs that served the people were going. That wasn't a management error, that was pure negligence and neglect of the most vulnerable people in the country. And we need to address some fundamental issues, because this liquidation cannot be understood without understanding what that ministry meant to those who created it. It was founded as an ideological showcase. more concerned with the discourse than with the result, more interested in exacerbating a narrative than in building a solid and lasting institutional framework to protect those they claimed to defend. And when it came time to close it, that same government that talked so much about protecting the most vulnerable people, left them exactly where it said it would never leave them. exposed, without a route, without guarantees, without anyone to answer for them. That's the fundamental contradiction. Lots of flag-waving and no responsibility. That is why President Abelardo de la Espiella signed Presidential Directive 02 addressed to the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, the Administrative Department of Public Service, and the Department of Social Prosperity. to bring order to a situation that the previous government left in a mess. The directive is clear on four points. First, all those entities must promptly address any request from the liquidator so that the process can move forward without obstacles. Second, the public service will coordinate with other entities a concrete action plan to clearly and systematically identify and reassign the functions, programs, projects and resources that were left unassigned so that nothing is left without an owner. Third, the oversight bodies, the Attorney General's Office, the Comptroller's Office, and others are invited to accompany and monitor this process, because this government is not afraid of being monitored; on the contrary, it prefers that these bodies accompany it. Fourth, the entire executive branch is committed to supporting the liquidator and the public service in whatever is necessary. This government does not dispute the Court's decision. What he cannot accept and will not accept is that the irresponsibility of those who left ends up costing the people who need protection the most. A ministry can be abolished, an ideological flag can be put away, but the rights of people with disabilities, women, ethnic communities, and subjects of special constitutional protection cannot be eliminated with a poorly drafted decree. That is the difference between governing with slogans and governing with responsibility. Every day we are getting closer to our homeland, Milagro.