Ending the Prosecutor's Office and Reforming the Prosecutor's Office: Sergio Fajardo's Proposals to Attack Corruption

One of Sergio Fajardo's main pillars during his presidency campaign has been the fight against corruption. On multiple occasions, the candidate of the Centro Esperanza Coalition has stated that clientelism is one of the main problems when it comes to politics in the country and, therefore, will seek to reach Casa de Nariño in a “different and free way”.

In the midst of this juncture, Fajardo was one of the applicants who criticized Gustavo Petro for signing a document before a notary in which he pledged not to expropriate the lands of the colombians. He also lashed out against Federico Gutiérrez, Team candidate for Colombia, who gave a press conference on the outskirts of this prison center to refer to the term” social pardon” and its proposals on corruption.

“This is one of the most absurd days in the context of the election campaign. 'Fico' goes and stands in front of the La Picota prison and makes an announcement there in the media. Petro, as you think, has to go sign at a notary's office to say he's not going to expropriate. Pathetic,” Fajardo said to public opinion.

In the last few hours, the candidate of the Centro Esperanza Coalition revealed that, in case of being imposed in the presidential elections, on August 8, a reform of justice will be filed before the Congress of the Republic. It will have four central points, and with it will seek to address the problems of corruption in the country.

1. The Attorney General of the Nation will be chosen by the Supreme Court of Justice on the basis of a list that will be the result of the top three scores in a merit contest that will be held by the highest qualified law school in the country. “Applicants will be required to be specialists in criminal law,” said the former governor of Antioquia.

2. Following the postulates of Juan Manuel Galán, former presidential pre-candidate for the New Liberalism, Fajardo proposed that it is necessary to eliminate the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation: “The functions of the Public Ministry will be assumed by the Office of the Ombudsman and those of disciplinary control by a specialized unit of the Attorney General's Office of the Nation”.

3. Another relevant section is that the Comptroller General of the Republic will be chosen by the Council of State from a list “with the three best scores in a merit competition that will be held by the best-rated law school in the country”.

4. Finally, the mayor of Medellín said that it is necessary to eliminate the territorial comptrollers. According to his proposal, the fiscal control of the departments and municipalities “shall be done by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic”.

“Without independent watchdogs there is no real fight against corruption. Corruption has permeated entities that are essential for transparency and guarantees in the country. It is necessary to have a truly independent, impartial and transparent administration of justice and supervisory bodies”, he said.

Fajardo estimates that, with some of these measures, the State can save about 2.5 billion pesos. These resources could be allocated to other sectors relevant to your campaign, such as education.

For now, the candidate of the Hope Center will continue to gather support from various political sectors for the first presidential round. The objective is to reverse the trend shown in the surveys so far.

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