Santos asks Latin Americans to exercise restraint in order for democracy to function

Former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos He asked his compatriots for calm, restraint and moderation this Friday in Cartagena de Indias so that democracy can work in Colombia.

He did so during a speech at the 57th Banking Convention, in which he pointed out that the moderation he advocated was that proposed by “the first president of the first democracy in the world, George Washingtonwhen he said that without moderation, democracies cannot function because there can be no consensus or agreement”.

We have to return to that state of mind and that moderation, said the winner Nobel Peace Prize 2016.

Santos talks about the polarization the country is experiencing because of politics President Gustavo Petrowhose leftist government proposes structural changes and has met with resistance from some conservative sectors.

In this sense, the former president pointed out that Colombia He is not the only country that needs calmness, restraint and moderation for democracy to function, because he believes that it is necessary for all of Latin America as well.

That is why he reminded that “the editor The Economist, Michael Reidhe recently said that he had never seen Latin America in such complicated problems as it is now”.

“It is important to generate what is called constructive dialoguefor people to talk, for people to find themselves between opposites and to learn from each other instead of insulting and attacking each other,” he added.

Likewise, the former president said that “constructive dialogue is not what it is dialogue in which I impose my opinion on the other, but in which I sit down to learn from the other and there we find common spaces.”

“Something that must be understood in the world and in Colombia is that it cannot be done just like that Governmentonly the private sector or only civil society, we have to face these problems we are facing together in a coordinated manner,” he added.

ENERGY TRANSITION AND SUSTAINABILITY

Santos also referred to government’s energy proposal Petro and stated that this must be done “moderately and with a little common sense”.

“No one is saying we shouldn’t do it, but let’s do it sensibly smart wayin a way that we don’t harm ourselves,” he warned.

The environmental policy of the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, it defends the decarbonisation of the economy in order to face the climate crisis and, to this end, a brake has been proposed on the exploration and exploitation of oil in the country.

“We have to make a transition, but we cannot do it as some say by stopping oil production. At this point, until we figure out how we’re going to replace those resources, we can’t just turn off the oil faucet,” he concluded.