The failure of Council of State against the former president of the Senate Iván Name with which his political death was decreed and the revelation by the Investigative Unit of EL TIEMPO that the then senator of the Historical Pact María José Pizarro is mentioned 85 times in the decision, the first reactions began to generalize.
For the Council of State, it is clear that there is a connection between the receipt of 3 billion pesos from the looting of the National Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD) and the fact that Name gave it power and the management of the plenary sessions where the Petro government’s pension reform was discussed. to a congresswoman supportive of that administration: María José Pizarro.
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‘Eager for votes’
María José Pizarro and Iván Name Photo:Nestor Gomez. THE TIME
Pizarro told the Investigative Unit of EL TIEMPO, and later emphasized it in a statement reported by other media, that at no time does the ruling of the Council of State make any accusations against her and that she only fulfilled her constitutional duty.
In any case, EL TIEMPO consulted two of the then senators who are mentioned in the sentence (Paloma Valencia and Enrique Cabrales) for having left records of the way in which the pension reform was processed and both agree that after the pronouncement of the Council of State We must investigate the legality of the process and approval of that initiative.
But one of them, also presidential candidate Paloma Valencia, went further and told EL TIEMPO that not only the procedure should be investigated but also the conduct of Pizarro and the magistrate of the Constitutional Court Vladimir Fernández.
Fernandez He went from being head of the Petro government’s legal office to a judge of that high court in the plenary session on October 17, 2023.
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The chats with Olmedo
Olmedo López, former director of the UNGRD Photo:Supplied
“If you combine what the Council of State has to say about Name and María José Pizarro with the information that is coming out in chats between Constitutional Court magistrate Vladimir Fernández and Olmedo López, Both the conduct of Pizarro and that of Judge Fernández must be investigated,” Valencia said.
Former Senator Valencia refers to some messages that the media colleague Cambio entre Olmedo López, then head of the UNGRD, has published. and the then legal head of Casa de Nariño.
And he added: “It is clear that the pension reform was approved through the back door despite my demand and the fact that Judge Ibáñez was declared disabledwho in his first statement revealed all the corruption that was happening.”
The former senator also assured that, as the Council of State says, it was Pizarro who presided over most of the plenary sessions in which the pension was debated: “This is an operation where Vladimir Fernández continued in court what is happening today. The thing about María José Pizarro was always very complicated because Name was elected president and she ended up as president. Because that was the reality. She presided over the vast majority of all plenary sessions and was the one in charge. And everything was at one speed; They did not allow discussions, they did not allow proposals to be presented.“.
And finally, he said that the ruling of the Council of State against Name would demonstrate that there is a total nullity in the approval of the pension reform: “Crime cannot give rise to a law.”
Senator Cabrales spoke in the same sense, saying that in the plenary sessions chaired by Pizarro, there were no guarantees for the opposition.
“We must investigate the way in which the pension reform was approved. In the sessions there were no guarantees and the opposition parties had to leave the premises“Senator Cabrales told EL TIEMPO.
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Pizarro’s statement
The statement from former senator María José Pizarro regarding links with Name. Photo:Private file
This is the statement from former Senator Pizarro:
“Given the decision of the Council of State that decreed, in the first instance, the loss of investiture of former senator Iván Name, and in the face of the malicious claims of some media and political sectors to link me to that case, I have nothing to do with the actions of Mr. Name.. “I will not allow anyone to try to link me with impunity to events in which I had no participation or knowledge,” the document reads.
And he adds: “I was elected first vice president of the Senate on July 20, 2023. Article 45 of Law 5. of 1992 establishes that the vice presidents replace the president in case of absence or impossibility. That was what I did, when appropriate, in numerous sessions of the Senateincluding those of the Pension Reform process, which was marked by unjustified delays in its inclusion in the agenda, constant difficulties in guaranteeing a quorum and repeated delays.
Furthermore, he assures: “My performance on the Board of Directors was institutional and is documented in the minutes and official audiovisual records of the Senate. Any discussion about my conduct must be based on that evidence, and not on interpretations that exceed what is established in the judicial decision. “That the ruling examines sessions that I presided over does not mean that I am attributed any participation in the events for which Mr. Name was sanctioned.”
The former senator concludes by saying: “As a senator of the Historical Pact, I acted in accordance with my duties and faithful to my convictions by having delivered to the Colombians the social reforms that we processed in Congress. “I expect speed, transparency and justice from the authorities so that these facts are clarified and those responsible assume the consequences of their actions.”
In any case, In his speech last Sunday, President De La Espriella referred to the ruling against Name and asked those involved in corruption scandals to collaborate with justice, which is why it is not ruled out that evidence will be provided in the near future. about the events that today have Name in prison.
INVESTIGATIVE UNIT
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