Carlos Fernando Galán (Bogotá, 46 years old) is celebrating his first week as elected mayor of Bogotá. The campaign ended with his victory last Sunday with 49% of the votes, a stronger result than anticipated, but his agenda maintains a frenetic pace. During the week he visited the works of the first line of the Bogotá metro – the reason for his disagreements with President Gustavo Petro -, he met with the mayor Claudia López, with the commander of the metropolitan police and also with several of the rivals of he. Among them Juan Daniel Oviedo, second in the elections, a refreshing postcard in times of incessant polarization. On Thursday, as he formally set up the splicing table, he appeared for the first time in four months without the iconic red jacket he wore throughout the campaign. “It’s not always the same, there are five,” he says smiling at the start of this interview, to which he comes in a white shirt and blazer, without a tie. His infectious serenity remains intact. “There I have it, the last one I used is in the laundry, but that jacket is going to be present,” he adds.
Ask. How is the connection progressing with Mayor Claudia López’s teams?
Answer. Well, it’s been smooth. We talked very early on Monday about building a methodology and we presented the teams on Thursday. I am going to coordinate the connection myself, I am going to be involved in it, but I am going to have a group of eight people who are going to help me due to the dimensions of the administration. Some women with experience, in Bogotá and nationally, with technical knowledge. I perceived a positive attitude from the mayor. I asked him, in addition to the reports contemplated in the splicing process, to help us with some issues of concern, strategic for Bogotá. They have to do with the public transportation system, the rate stabilization fund, the landfill, with the metro – line 1, line 2 and also what is related to line 3 –, the cables of Bogotá, the challenges in education to guarantee that the schools that are being built have teachers…I perceive a process that is going to be cordial, fluid, frank, that is going to help us a lot. That is positive for Bogotá.
Q. He appointed eight women to be in charge of sectoral issues in the junction. Are they going to be in his cabinet?
R. Some of them may be, we haven’t talked about or defined that. For now we are focused on making the best possible connection and having the best tools to make decisions. Over the next few weeks I will begin announcing the names.
Q. Is the message that the Government team is going to have a feminine accent?
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R. Definitely. Not only because of a commitment that I made during the campaign, but because I am convinced that we need the leadership of many women in Bogotá.
Q. He had complimentary words for all his opponents, this week he met with Juan Daniel Oviedo, Diego Molano, Jorge Luis Vargas and Rodrigo Lara. Are you planning a meeting with Gustavo Bolívar, President Petro’s candidate?
R. Yes, I hope to also meet with Gustavo Bolívar. I have said that I want to collect positive ideas from all the candidates. I highlight things that he raised, despite the differences we had, for example, the issue of betting on a bilingual city. That is necessary, I also had it in my proposal, I want to strengthen it and talk to him about those topics on which we could agree. Furthermore, I am aware that he managed to connect and transmit a vision to some sectors of the young population of Bogotá.
Q. Is his victory an opportunity to vindicate politics beyond the outsiders And the anti-politicians? Do you define yourself as a politician?
R. I think we have to give meaning back to politics. It is an extraordinary tool. No matter how many cases we have experienced, in the world and in our country, we have rejected it as a tool. And it is a mistake. What must be differentiated is when politics is done well, that builds consensus, that has the ability to make decisions based on supported information, that also has the ability to recognize errors, to highlight successes in others… Bogotá needs that. Part of the problems we have is because we have not had the opportunity to see politics like this in our city. We turn it into a battlefield and not a scenario for seeking consensus and dialogue. Our arrival at the Government represents respect for that type of policy.
Q. Did the campaign leave open wounds with President Petro?
R. There were obvious, public difficulties, we stated it, we cannot deny that this occurred due to the attitude that the Government took in recent weeks, particularly. We have differences regarding the vision of what needs to be done in our city, what needs to be done to face security challenges. But I have a responsibility to sit down and work with the Government and not think about those campaign wounds, but rather about how we can work and articulate with the national Government. I’m ready to do it.
Q. Do you feel a counterweight from the President of the Republic?
R. No, I think it is the democratic expression that citizens wanted to put on the table, that the country has to build collectively. There are things you like about what the president has done, things you don’t. When supporting us, citizens took into account concerns regarding projects that affect Bogotá, such as the subway. And I must take that into account, I have a mandate from the citizens to defend the institutions of Bogotá.
Q. What will your relationship be like with Jorge Rey, the elected governor of Cundinamarca whom you have denounced in the past?
R. Of respect, for what the decision of the people of Cundinamarca to elect him means. I am going to have a dialogue with him, without a doubt, it is my responsibility. Furthermore, I am respectful of the institutions, of the decisions that justice has made in those cases. We have to promote the metropolitan region. That is going to be one of the key bets because it touches on infrastructure, transportation, security, food security and economic issues as well.
Q. Does his victory once again position the battered political center as an option for power in Colombia?
R. I do believe that it is showing that we can unite, starting from a political sector that is not a lukewarm sector that does not have the capacity to take positions. That collects, as you saw in the campaign, positive ideas from the center-right, the center-left, and builds from there.
Q. How is the hope of Bogota residents rebuilt, as has been proposed?
R. With several elements. One is to speak truthfully, to be transparent, to tell people what they can and cannot do. It is very important to show the ability to build agreements, overcome fights and provide quick results where possible. I’m going to focus on that. So that citizens feel that these agreements lead to something, that they really represent changes in public policy and a direct impact on people’s quality of life.
Q. In his election night speech he mentioned security, mobility – through the subway – and the fight against hunger. Are those the three main challenges of his mandate?
R. Those are the axes, which have many components and connect to each other. For example, the issue of economic activity in Bogotá, job creation, and the relationship with the private sector, will play a role on all three fronts. Security will allow us a favorable environment for investment, for economic activity. Obviously improving the infrastructure and working to get this city moving is going to be key. And the fight against hunger and poverty. With the mayor we looked at the impact that the pandemic had, and the city has not yet recovered, it has not returned to pre-pandemic figures in terms of poverty. This requires shock policies, but also a long-term vision.
Q. What would you like to be the great legacy of his Mayor’s Office?
R. The main legacy I aspire to is that people say that in our Government trust in the city was restored. That processes were initiated that led to solving the problems, but by recovering the trust that was lost.
Q. He has placed a lot of emphasis on recognizing the successes of others, which other leaders have done well. What has Claudia López done well?
R. The mayor made the right decision by choosing to recognize a structural problem in our society, and that is the lack of recognition of what unpaid care work means in our city. We have 1,200,000 women in Bogotá who perform unpaid care work. The district care system recognizes this and takes measures to confront what it means, to break the barriers it generates for the development of the life project of women in Bogotá. I like it, it is a success, we have talked about it at the junction and we are going to focus on strengthening and growing it.
Q. And what has Gustavo Petro done well as president of Colombia?
R. It’s a little more difficult there, I confess. I think that President Petro knew how to interpret an intention for change, but he has had great difficulties translating that into concrete actions. He is disappointing. I appreciate the president’s concern for the social problems of this country, I agree that this is a country with serious problems of inequality and poverty, but I must say that his formula to confront it is wrong. It’s good at diagnosing, but bad at prescribing.
Q. You made it clear during the campaign that you were asking for the vote for you, for Carlos Fernando Galán. Now that he won, do you feel freed to talk more about his father figure? He said in his speech that he felt a responsibility to Luis Carlos Galán.
R. I feel it, because I am aware of the frustration that his death, his murder, meant for many Colombians. And that many lived these 34 years with the hope that those ideas could one day govern. Those ideas will always inspire me; I am aware that the country and the city have changed a lot, but there are basic elements of what it means to do politics, of the way of doing politics, that will always be there. And they obviously generate in me a very great commitment, help, support, inspiration, but also an immense weight, because the expectations are very high. I have to dedicate myself to being up to par and I am going to do it every second.
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