Colombia Appoints New Attorney General

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Facts

  • Colombia's top court elected Luz Adriana Camargo as the nation's new attorney general on Tuesday, concluding the monthslong process to select one of the three candidates proposed by Pres. Gustavo Petro.1
  • Camargo reached the two-thirds majority threshold in the latest round of voting after the initial frontrunner, Amelia Pérez, withdrew her candidacy after her husband came into the spotlight for his criticism of Petro's eldest son's arrest and the Supreme Court's decisions.2
  • The attorney general's office is currently overseeing a year-long investigation into Petro's son, Nicolás, for alleged corruption and money laundering, as well as claims of corrupt financing of his father's presidential campaign in 2022.3
  • Previously, Camargo had investigated the 'Yidispolitics' bribery scandal and connections between politicians and the paramilitary group United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia and also served as a member of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala.4
  • She will replace acting Attorney General Martha Mancera, who temporarily took office following the end of the term of Attorney General Francisco Barbosa on Feb. 8.5
  • Camargo's appointment comes after tens of thousands across the country protested the government's proposed reforms targeting education, health, the labor system, and pensions. The protesters also demanded action against deteriorating security.6

Sources: 1Bloomberg, 2Associated Press, 3Al Jazeera, 4Colombiaone, 5Colombia News and 6Reuters.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by ThePrisma.co.uk. The threat of a soft coup to prevent any of the three nominees from being elected attorney general and let Martha Mancera illegitimately run the office has finally been thwarted now that Camargo has been selected. Yet, this process has revealed the clientelistic nature of the establishment in Colombia, one that has turned the attorney general's office into an entity to hinder investigations.
  • Narrative B, as provided by The City Paper Bogotá. The process of electing a new attorney general has traditionally been lengthy in Colombia, so the actual threat to democracy was Petro calling his most radical supporters to criminally besiege the Supreme Court last month. It's outrageous that the president has supported riots and aggression to try to put pressure on judicial decisions and undermine the independence of courts and judges.

Predictions