Mayor of Colombia’s capital Bogota Gustavo Petro, on Monday once again expressed his distrust in the national government’s competence through the social networking site Twitter.
In his most recent set of tweets the mayor said that he believed “there is an enormous disrespect” for the voters’ decision in the 2011 local elections, to which he later added: “I think the president sincerely wants a healthy relationship with Bogota, but other political agendas have been crossed.”
Creo que el presidente sinceramente quiere una agenda de relaciones sanas con Bogotá, pero otras agendas políticas se atraviesan
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) October 22, 2012
On Sunday the mayor tweeted his concern about the national government’s decision to intervene in Bogota’s TransMilenio transport system asking why last year when there were problems with the contract “there was no intervention, and now there is?”
This outburst coincides with the mayor’s displeasure with the government over vital issues such as free housing and the Families in Action program, both of which were designed to improve social standards in Bogota. Petro accused the national government of standing in the way of his “approach for the good of society.”
“The city underwent a period where corruption slowed its development. Now it cannot undergo a period where political calculation slows development,” said Petro. “The more efforts that are made, the more relationships deteriorate.”
Gina Parody, senior presidential adviser for the Bogota region, stated simply that: “We will not fight with Mayor Petro, because we are not interested. What the president has asked us to do is necessary, for the good of Bogota and its inhabitants.”
