Petro is not ‘progressive.’ As president, he would destroy Colombia’s democracy | Opinion

Democrats’ silence with respect to the crisis in Colombia has been so pervasive that its meaning is too obvious to ignore. Mothers, fathers and children are enduring the lead-up civil war, but and all I’ve heard from Democratic leaders and staffers are media sound bites condemning Colombia for human rights violations, or rhetoric calling for retribution targeted at Ivan Duque and Alvaro Uribe for their support for Donald Trump.

Are we so morally broken that we cannot see beyond our political divide?

I feel betrayed, especially after I put so much time and effort into amplifying the voices of the many vulnerable Democrats who feared losing their own democracy only a few months ago.

Democracy is not left, right, conservative, liberal or progressive. Democracy is freedom, and we must defend it in Colombia, where it is under assault. We must put an end to direct and indirect support for Gustavo Petro and his deceptive “progressive” movement.

A victory by presidential candidate Petro, the former militant of the M-19 terrorist guerrilla group and ideological friend of Venezuela’s late President Hugo Chavez, will be the end of democracy in Colombia. We have seen his redistributive populism and his dangerous autocratic, anti-democratic tendencies during his tenure in Congress and as mayor of Bogota. We have witnessed the terrorist guerrilla militants he appointed to mayoral cabinet positions who, ironically, have even less regard for human-rights violations. We have learned to recognize these pillars of every communist dictatorship.

Today, Petro is the left, right and center of both peaceful and violent protests feeding the socio-economic crises that will destabilize the country into submission. The people’s sorrow is his gain, as is every life lost. Each condemnation of human-rights violations at the hands of the Colombian state is his gain, measured by each and every soul that is deceived under his corrupt branding of the word “progressive.”

Just as Donald Trump supporters branded themselves “patriots” when they attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, looking to steal our electoral votes, Petro used “progressive“ to attack Colombia’s democracy.

There is no doubt that Colombia’s neocapitalist-authoritarian framework needs to evolve. We must fight not just for a more-dignified Colombia, but also for a nation that embraces a new brand of capitalism based on principles of liberty, equality and justice.

However, the type of change for which we, as Democrats, need to advocate, is one measured in degrees. We cannot allow our progressive ideologies to overlook the obvious shortcomings in Colombia’s government and allow our misdirected passion to trump our better sense of reason. If we do, we will risk the rise of a new communist dictatorship in Colombia at the hands of Petro, and not without blood on the hands of those who directly or indirectly supported him.

To be clear, I do not identify with President Ivan Duque. However, I do know that solely a blanket condemnation of human-rights violations by the Colombian government is not the answer, I know that Petro is not the answer, and I know that silence in the face of a collapsing democratic state in Colombia is definitely not the answer.

It therefore is upon us and our political leaders to understand the complexities afflicting the socio-economic war in Colombia in order to find a nonpartisan voice that will support a future democratic state in Colombia as well as the majority of our Colombian community in this time of crisis.

Carolina Castillo is a businesswoman and voting rights advocate. In 2018, she was president of Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Miami-Dade County.

This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 1:12 PM.