President Gustavo Petro of Colombia had to deal with an unplanned cabinet shakeup this week, firing three of his ministers on Monday following internal differences around a broad reform package, which will begin with a proposal to overhaul the country’s healthcare system.
The list of cuts includes Education Minister Alejandro Gaviria, Sports Minister María Isabel Urrutia, and Culture Minister Patricia Ariza. All positions have now been filled, the government confirmed in the last few days. This is the first cabinet change since Mr. Petro took office in August 2022.
Addressing the nation, Colombia’s left-wing head of state called it a “decisive moment for our reforms” and asked for “more cohesion and determination.”
At the center of the crisis was a leaked letter that exposed criticism from high-ranking officials against government-backed reforms — which also include changes to the country’s pension system and labor regulations.
Mr. Gaviria, who served as a health minister himself during the Juan Manuel Santos government and was a strong voice in Mr. Petro’s cabinet, expressed reservations about the government’s plan to reduce the functions of private healthcare insurers, creating a much more state-controlled system — “destroying [the system] would be suicidal,” said Mr. Gaviria.
Though this is the government’s first crisis to date, these setbacks could pose a huge problem to Mr. Petro’s ambitious 2023 reform agenda, with which the president is trying to make good on his electoral campaign promises.
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