The former senator and former M-19 member Everth Bustamante repeated this in interviews with Blue Radio And the magazine week His questions about Gustavo Petro’s role within the Colombian guerrilla war, launching direct accusations about his historical importance and his current administration.
“It has had no significance in the history of M-19; there is not a single document, not a single discussion, not a single contribution.”Bustamante said in statements to Blue Radio.
You can now follow us Facebook And in our WhatsApp channel
This vision was reinforced when the book was presented Rebellion, weapons and democracyin which the former rebel delves into his version of events and details the personal and political distance between him and the current Colombian president.
The former M-19 member delved into the ideological tensions that currently characterize his relationship with the president.
in Blue RadioBustamante pointed out that “the real traitors to the M-19 ideology are those who were unable to engage in dialogue and betrayed the agreements.” For him, Petro’s emergence into national politics represents a break with the legacy of reconciliation sought by the 1991 constitution, promoted after the demobilization of the rebel movement.
During the conversation with weekBustamante stated that,Petro has lied in his childhood, in his youth, in his youth, and now, as he has entered old age, he continues to lie. It’s a serious gap the president has in his personal training. The main tool he used to gain power was lies. In this way he deceived 11,300,000 Colombians, who were expecting change, and led them to failure.
This accusation was complemented by the idea that Petro had appropriated the historical symbols of the M-19 to demonstrate political legitimacy.
“I feel like this is the behavior of a scammer. In central Bogotá there are some characters who are playing ball to scam people. Pietro unearths Bolívar’s sword and his science of deception, seeking historical credibility with generations under 50. “He is a political fraud.”
From his point of view, the president’s actions created a rift in the national reconciliation project.
Bustamante was frank: “The most important thing about the M-19 case was not its war, it was its tragedy. The most important thing is that it contributed to peace, and that peace led to the adoption of a new social contract, the Constitutional Charter of 1991.”
For him, the recent policies and positions of Casa de Nariño meant just that “A return to confrontation, hatred and contradiction” Contrary to the spirit of dialogue that was promoted after the movement was demobilized.
Criticisms directed at the personality of the Colombian president were present throughout the interviews.
According to Bustamante, from his early years, Petro showed “Traits that are considered healthy today: incompetence of the environment, lack of precision and the tendency to put oneself at the center of every event.. The former member of M-19 finds in these characteristics the reason for his disagreement with the current direction of the country.
When referring to Pietro’s role in the armed organization, Bustamante characterizes his presence as “analgesic” and suggests that the president himself exaggerated his influence.
According to the former senator. During the development of the North Canton operation, he “escaped and did not return.”. This data is collected by Blue Radiowas a key part of the argument used by the former M-19 member to discredit the prestige the president attributed to his years of struggle.
He reiterated in his statements that “Petro never belonged to the military wing and his role was limited to being part of the sympathizers committee.” Blue Radio.
The former senator too He pointed out that the current president has never participated in the relevant peace negotiations Nor in the drafting of the basic documents for demobilization, which contradicts what Pietro himself stated in his book “One Life, Many Lives.”
And in the testimonies he collected week, Bustamante goes so far as to define Pietro as “a tragedy worse than the country’s palace of justice.”.
The former fighter says the president “damaged institutions, created mistrust, confused the country, and damaged international relations.”