Today Colombia selects new president

Colombia will vote for its new president today.

Santos (current president) and Zuluaga collide in peace issues, international relations and Free Trade Agreement.

This is why Juan Manuel Santos wants to stay president of Colombia:

In these four years Colombia has progressed in almost every aspect. We lowered unemployment and extreme poverty rates in  with two revealing data: 2.5 million Colombians (the population of Medellín) found jobs and climbed out of poverty into the middle class. This also strengthened our economy. We  have improved safety indicators and started a peace process that might lead finally to the end of the armed conflict in our country.

The five pillars of my government, are: education, health, housing, agriculture and, of course, peace.

 

We will promote excellence teaching, with better conditions and training for teachers. We will advance a National Bilingual Program, and will continue to strengthen el Sena. We will give 9 million Tablets to all students in public schools and colleges, and 350,000 free computers to teachers.

We built more than 900,000 homes starting this term, and the goal for 2018 will be 1’200 .000. We will follow our program of free housing for the poorest, subsidy programs and, above all, a new method that will revolutionize housing in the country, which is the Tacs ( Building Society Savings), with which Colombians will be abel purchase their new home, using what they pay for rent without  down payment. The goal is to turn renters into owners.

The best news that we will provide is that the whole country will be peace. If we manage to end the conflict, through the ongoing negotiations with the FARC and ELN, all resources that go into the war until today, will be invested in social programs, infrastructure and reconciliation . In a recent study by the United Nations, it is estimated that with peace, our economy will grow at levels up to 8 percent, like China! All that this implies in job creation and welfare. It’s not just a slogan, it is the reality!

The presidential candidate Oscar Ivan Zuluga explains to the Colombians, why the should vote for him.

For colombia we will make a proposal for social transformation because we want to change. Because we believe in a politics of ideas and high principles.

We are a party with of senators and young representatives, professionals outside of the traditional party structures and motivated by the honor of public service.

We have a steady hand to apply the law to terrorism and a big heart to give  the guerrilla a generous reintegration.

We firmly reject cronyism and big heart to form agreements of the prime interest of the country.

Therefore, we propose to Colombia a manifesto for social transformation, full of ideas, enforceable and able to solve the real problems of citizens. Our proposal for Colombia focuses on five pillars: social cohesion, democratic security, investors confidence, citizen participation and an austere state. These are the basics that will  achieve ‘A Colombia with opportunities for all’.

Social cohesion: The biggest challenge we have as a country is to build opportunities. To achieve this, we must assure universal access to education and health services, and ensure that our support networks effectively meet the poor and we have to protect the rights of our children based on our social policy.

Our proposed work is summarized in clusters from productive regions, economic stability and labor inspection to ensure decent jobs.

Democratic security: Colombia needs to regain the democratic security policy. True peace is built with more safety and justice, not from impunity for violent political privileges. Safety will be the focus of my government because only a country is a safe country able to think big.

Our security agenda will provide protection to citizens throughout the territory of the security forces. The operational coordination of all forces is a plan for secure borders. Also recovering cooperation between citizens and the police. Our proposed Public Safety has been structured to dramatically reduce this scourge and enable citizens to exercise their individual freedom throughout the territory.

Investor Security: I will seek a strong and confident economy for investment. Colombia should set specific goals, ensuring the sustainability of growth based on the stability of monetary and fiscal policies.

No more Free Trade negotiations. Considering that Colombia has signed ten free trade agreements during the past ten years, we will finish all current and future negotiations.

Public Participation: In our government will be attentive to the needs of the population, developing strategies that bring us closer to social problems, as programs focused to providing solutions that promote good governance.

Austere Status: Our administration is characterized by the efficient use of resources. The public budget will always  meet the needs of the population and never have personal interests.