The meeting with which Department of agriculture look for build a common agenda for livestock ended at a crossroads between the minister Indalecio Dangond and the president of Fedegan, José Félix Lafaurieto whom the official asked him to leave.
The episode It happened on Tuesday, November 3 in Bogota. In an audio of the meeting, which was provided by Fedegán, the minister is heard saying “If you do not respect the rules here, retires”.
Lafaurie said that refused to leave. “I I told him I wasn’t leavingbecause public offices are public,” he said in a publication made in X, and added that, due to his status as president of the federation“some respect should be deserved.”
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According to the leader, the minister he questioned at the meeting as resources have been used of the National Livestock Fundwhich Fedegán manages by contract with the State and which is nourished by mandatory contributions – called parafiscals – from those who produce and sell meat and milk. He spoke about a billion pesos since 2019 and an audit, and Lafaurie responded that that sum is equivalent to eight years of operation of the Fund.
The meeting ended with 11 strategic lines of work for livestock, signed by organizations such as Colanta, Sunlight, Asocebu, Unaga and Friogan. Fedegan is not among the signatories.
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The reading of Lafaurie
In X’s publication, made the next day, the leader left a message about what happened. “Public policies they are dictated by the government. From the Colombian Federation of Livestock Breeders we are here to support all those initiatives that serve the field. If you want to work with us, great. If you don’t want to work with us, we are very sorry“, wrote.
The message includes a video from an interview in which Lafaurie He described the minister as “very rude” and “very superb” and explained that The tension has been going on for more than a decade..
Lafaurie’s post on X. Photo:X – @jflafaurie
According to his story, when Dangond He was an advisor to the then minister of Agriculture Aurelio Iragorri —during the Government of Juan Manuel Santoswhich in 2015 he retired Fedegán the administration of the Fund, returned to the federation in 2019, spoke with members of the union’s board of directors and told them that, if they elected him and Lafaurie was dismissedthem reestablished the Fund.
For Lafaurie, the audit is part of that story. He said that, during the meeting, someone asked if They were published in the Secop the audit documents for Fedegán and the National Federation of Rice Growers (Fedearroz), which for him confirms that the minister came “to collect old pains”. He said that has no objection to the review because, he recalled, “we already went there” during the time of the former minister Juan Camilo Restrepo.
Lafaurie called the board of directors of Fedegán to analyze what happened, including his continuity at the head of the federation, whose period as president ends in December 2026and announced that will file a disciplinary complaint before the Attorney’s Officethe body that monitors the conduct of public officials.
The Ministry of Agriculture indicated that for now there will be no statements about what happened. In the meeting statement, Dangond did referred to parafiscal resources and said that “the Colombian countryside no more bureaucratic discussions needed about who manages parafiscal resources. You need those resources reach the producerbecome technology, mechanization, genetics, infrastructure and productivity.”
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He antecedent
Since October, Dangond has announced reviews to the parafiscal resources of various sectors, including livestock and rice. Lafaurie He referred in particular to Fedearroz. He October 2in a letter to the board of directors of that federation, the minister announced a review how the resources it manages are executed, and Fedearroz responded that audits are welcome because they have already been done Attorney’s Office and the Comptroller.
For Lafaurie, the minister “already sent him an audit“to that organization as part of a previous account. According to the leader, the origin is in Dangond’s relationship with Rafael Hernandezgeneral manager of Fedearroz.
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Lafaurie maintains that the minister also tried to get to the board of directors of the Colombian Farmers Society (SAC), a union in the agricultural sector, and that Hernández then believed that Dangond “did not have the track record, did not have the profile.” In his opinion, the minister “also he charged it” with the audit.
There is also a documented crossover between the two. In an opinion column published in September 2017signed by Indalecio Dangond B., the author questioned the management that Fedearroz gave to the resources of the rice farmers and reported that Hernández I had sent him a letter for demand a rectification.
María Alejandra Moreno Flórez
Economic Journalist
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