One week after 100 days have passed since the presidency of Abelardo De La Espriellawe can now talk about an imprint and style of government. Experts and different political sectors agree that it has been evident almost from day one, since the bases of what the government would be like in addressing the tragedy caused by the earthquake of August 10which occurred just on the first business day of this administration.
READ ALSO
The majority of those consulted agree that we are facing a government in which the emphasis is concentrated on the presidential figure. The analyst Pedro Medellincolumnist for EL TIEMPO, summarizes it as follows: “more president than presidency. The president concentrates everything: the messages, the policy decisions, the appointments.”
President Abelardo De La Espriella in the security council. Photo:Presidency.
Although we come from a past administration in which there was a wide personalism of power with Gustavo Petroin this case there is a clear intention that it is the first president who concentrate the voice of the Executive and there is a repetitive exercise of micromanagement, very similar to what the government of the former president Álvaro Uribe.
They have become common stories on Instagramfavorite social network of this administration, in which De La Espriella is seen working and attending to government affairs.
Much emphasis is placed on the time and what there is a representative present who acts immediatelyin an attempt to contrast with the past administration and the various episodes in which Gustavo Petro appeared hours or days after tragedies, emergencies and other situations. Above all, there is an emphasis on attention to security crises.
The greatest evidence of this situation They have been the great operations carried out in Santa Marta —in the middle of the armed strike of Los Pachenca—, Cali, Medellín and Bogotá.
READ ALSO
all of them They were done at dawn and emphasis is placed on the figure of the president Abelardo De La Espriella as a direct participant in actions against crime. He has even exchanged comments with the detainees, as he has done by telling them ‘Welcome to the Patria Milagro’.
The president, Mayor Gutiérrez and Governor Rendón in a mega operation in Medellín. Photo:Medellín Mayor’s Office.
There is no record of a President who decided be part of the first-hand operations. And although it is obvious that the president does not directly participate in the actions of the Public Force, it seeks to send that message of the presence of the president and a ‘strong hand’.
“Leadership on security issues is reaffirmed that he had raised during the campaign, not only from the execution of operations in key cities for the Government such as Barranquilla or Medellín, but from the symbolism used in them: gun on his belt, bulletproof vest, military gestures, among others,” said the political communication expert. Juan Sebastian Delgado.
And it has sought to centralize the presidential image as the guarantor of security, as the analyst commented Gustavo Duncan: “He is aware of the need to build a large consensus of opinion about the legitimacy of his government and he does it through security, which is the one that can bear fruit the fastest because other areas are delayed. “It’s up to you to focus on the topic that can be popular.”
The architect of this communication strategy is Carlos Suarezmain advisor to Abelardo De La Espriella during the campaign, and current president of the board of directors of Ecopetrol. This has been the designer of the entire communications strategy, including the centralization of messages in the Presidency, as several ministers have said, he is the one who has sought to privilege the image of the president over the rest of the cabinet, so much so that the directive was issued that the Communications pass entirely through Casa de Nariño. Nobody goes to an interview if they don’t have approval.
READ ALSO
A touch of closeness
The only one who speaks continuously is the president and the spokesperson, which most of the time is Miller Soto. The presence of ministers is occasional and dialogue with the press is minimal. On the other hand, the president has sought to give a tone of closeness by having his main statements on social networks.
Address by President De La Espriella on Sunday, October 25. Photo:Presidency.
This is how Delgado explained it: “Although he wants to centralize communication through his spokesperson and himself, the fact of having weekly different broadcasts through social networksgives the perspective of seeking to democratize the Government’s communication with citizens. You want to look and feel close to people”.
Also is cultivating this closeness through speeches. Just as in the Petro government, these spaces that interrupt the programming of national private channels have been institutionalized.
At least There have been seven speeches since the beginning of the government. The structure has been the same, the president speaks directly to Colombians and gives them an executive summary of what he has done during the week and makes small announcements, which he does not delve into much. It differs from the last administration in that, while Petro did not have a script and ended up deviating from the initial themes, in this case, De La Espriella continues to the letter the previously agreed intervention.
Besides, emotional and symbolic content has been privilegedthis, following the guideline set by Carlos Suárez.
“I have been saying something that has been criticized a lot, but the method has proven to be true: political campaigns are nothing more than show business. You don’t win with proposalsbut with emotions and feelings. What societies choose is a type of leader who is capable of fulfilling the collective dream. The ministers are there for the proposals, who are going to execute them. The big mistakes are those who have read campaigns and elections as a rational process, when, in reality, they are an emotional process. And that is not new,” he said. BOCAS magazine.
President Abelardo De La Espriella visits disaster areas in Cali after the earthquake. Photo:Samir Rojas
confrontational tone
While a touch of closeness is sought, it has been different with the political class. Since the campaign he has sought to differentiate himself from them and mark distances. He has not met with the Congressional benchescontrary to what was customary with previous leaders.
Furthermore, spaces have become common in which has ‘confronted’ the political leaders linked with possible cases of corruption or with differences of an ideological nature to his administration: he did so with Yahir Acuñamayor of Sincelejo; the representative for San Andrés, Elizabeth Jay Pangand the governor of the same department, Girley Natcha Ordóñez Bowie; and the governor of Nariño, Luis Alfonso Escobar.
READ ALSO
“From La Espriella understand the value of confrontation to keep his support base cohesive and uses his personal figure as the main authority reference,” said the political communication expert. Nury Astrid Gómezwhich at the same time made the reservation that “this strategy has a risk: governing requires expanding consensus, managing differences and building trust beyond those who elected it. Communication can generate a perception of leadership, but that perception needs to be based on verifiable results”.
This same tone has been seen in the first changes in his cabinet and in other departments, as happened with the former minister Rodrigo Larathat He did not manage to complete three months in office and it came out in the middle of the controversy over the fall of the budget due to defects in its processing. This is also the case of several officials associated with Gustavo Petro’s administration.
Although send a message of severity and, at the same time, in accordance with the analyst firm Sonar in its report on the first 90 days: “they reflect difficulties in the selection of officials and in coordination from the Presidency.”
Rodrigo Lara did not manage to serve three months in office. Photo:U. Externado/Courtesy
In that same sense, the document points out that there is not only a “political cost” but that the changes “affect the continuity of the entitiesthey delay processes and can generate uncertainty”, something that has been sought to be avoided in contrast to the previous government.
Juan Sebastián Lombo – Political Editorial – EL TIEMPO
