Colombia has approved 12% of the general expenditure budget for 2022, around 11,000 million dollars, for the defense sector, the second highest in Latin America after Brazil.
Gustavo Petro, a well-known critic of the military establishment and ex-militant of the guerrilla of the M-19announced that in his mandate members of the Armed Forces accused of human rights violations will lose military jurisdictionwhich means that they will be investigated and punished by ordinary judges who usually impose more severe sentences.
The candidate of the leftist Historical Pact has also promised a profound restructuring of the police, including the dismantling a disputed riot squadaccused of human rights violations.
“The role of the army is defense and the role of the police is to protect rights and freedoms,” Gustavo Petro said in a recent interview with Reuters, in which he raised professionalize the army to end compulsory military service for men.
The Colombian army has been facing for years a scandal for human rights violations known as the “false positives“, in which the military assassinated more than 6,400 people presented as guerrillas killed in combat to win promotions and other benefits.
Petro, who was imprisoned 16 months after he was captured in possession of weapons in 1985 and denounced torture by the military, announced that he will promote a “radical change” in the promotion system of the armed forces based on merit.
The leftist candidate’s plans contrast with those of his rival, the independent businessman Rodolfo Hernandezwho proposes modernizing military equipment, promoting joint operations, increasing human rights training for all troops, in addition to improving the salaries of the uniformed men.
A poll published by Invamer last week indicated that the two candidates had a technical tie days before the ballot. With data collected between June 3 and 7, Hernández had a voting intention of 48.2%, while Petro had 47.2% of the preferences. The survey has a margin of error of 2.69%.
Military rule out insubordination
The eventual victory of Gustavo Petro has generated rumors of insubordination of some military among politicians and businessmen, but the 11 generals and admirals of the army, air force, navy and police with whom Reuters spoke ruled out that possibility, they assured that will respect the election results and they will accept as supreme commander the winner.
“Regardless of who is elected president, all troops, from the humblest soldier to the highest-ranking general, will recognize and respect him as the supreme commander,” said an army general with a military career of more than 35 years.
“Whoever does not agree or feels uncomfortable, the only option they have is to request their retirement,” he added.
Petro would be the first politician from the left to assume the presidency in Colombian history and to be the supreme commander of the Armed Forces in a country historically governed by right-wing and center-right leaders.
“In reality (nothing is going to happen),” said John Marulanda, a retired colonel who was in the army for more than 20 years and is the current president of the Colombian Association of Retired Officers of the Armed Forces (ACORE).
“If the leftist candidate in Colombia legally wins the elections with the established norms, there is not much that the Armed Forces can do other than obey his orders,” he said.
The retired officer compared the situation with that of other Latin American countries such as Argentina, Chile, Peru and Mexico, where the left came to power after winning elections.
An army general and another from the police assured that when Gustavo Petro was mayor of Bogotá, between 2012 and 2015, he maintained respectful relations with the armed forces.
Petro’s promises include seeking peace in Colombia, a country of 50 million inhabitants, which has been facing an internal armed conflict for almost six decades that has left 260,000 dead and millions displaced.
The politician proposes to start a negotiation with the leftist guerrilla of the National Liberation Army (ELN), apply the 2016 peace agreement to the FARC dissidents who decided to return to the armed struggle considering that there had been a failure by the State and a submission of criminal gangs such as the Gulf Clan.
These measures could imply the suspension of offensive military operations against these illegal armed groups, which would lead to a demoralization of the troops, a cut in the budget and in the number of troops, according to the 11 active officers consulted.
Petro, who has promised ambitious programs to reduce poverty in the immensely unequal country with about 40% of its population living in poverty, said that he will not spend resources on rifles or bombs, which would imply the postponement of the purchase of a fleet of fighter planes to replace the old Kfirs.
Risks and complications
Petro’s initiatives could lead to an increase in the area planted with coca leaves and the production of cocainewhich would complicate relations with USAColombia’s main ally and critic in the fight against drug trafficking, said ACORE’s Marulanda.
America’s regional anti-drug efforts have already faced pushback from Mexico’s leftist president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obradorwho shut down an elite unit that had worked for decades with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), claiming it was infiltrated by criminals.
Gustavo Petro, who called the drug war a “complete failure,” said the government must support small coca growers with alternative crops and increase their income.
“We face the risk of losing the ground gained in the fight against drug trafficking, organized crime and illegal armed groups if eventually we receive an order to suspend the offensive and our human and equipment resources are cut,” said a Navy admiral in charge of a unit that fights cocaine production and trafficking.
Currently in Colombia the army, the police, the air force and the navy have around 450,000 troops.
But the most affected force would be the National Police with Petro’s restructuring plan that contemplates removing it from the Ministry of Defense and placing it under the Ministry of the Interior or Justice to give it a civilian character aimed at a peaceful solution.
The leftist candidate announced that the police will stop carrying out functions such as assault operations against illegal armed groups and that they will dismantle the questioned Mobile Riot Squad (ESMAD) accused of the death of several young people during the 2021 anti-government protests.
One of the generals consulted expressed concern that Petro, as he did Hugo Chavez In Venezuela, he assured, try to break the unity of the Armed Forces by buying loyal officers to perpetuate themselves in power, an alarm that Marulanda agreed with.
Gustavo Petro dismissed comparisons with Venezuela and recently assured that if he is elected president he will serve his only four-year term.
Source: Ambito
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