Maria Fernanda Cabal’s clash with climate activists in Congress

The full session of the Senate has already begun sessions, this Tuesday, July 26, to discuss the Treaty of Escazú, one of the issues pending by the last Congress.

However, before this debate could begin, a strong conflict broke out between Senator María Fernanda Cabal and many climate activists promoting the ratification of the agreement.

All this took place at the entrance of the headquarters where the Senate is in full session. for several minutes The congresswoman confronted those leaders and Senator Wilson Arias, accusing the Democratic center of interfering in approving the initiative.

According to Kabal, “Environmentalists, instrumentalized by the international left, ignore the danger of Escazú. That agreement is part of a globalist agenda to halt development, impoverish Colombians, and deceive unsuspecting youth.said the Congresswoman.

In a discussion between Cabal and Arias, the positions of the Escazu Pact were established. “You can’t be on the side of a cow, you can’t be on the side of a man”, the senator told a member of the Democratic Center. For that reason, the legislator asked for respect and pointed out that those who support the initiative are ignoring the potential dangers to Colombia.

Although the conversation between the congressmen was done in a strong tone, both entered the plenary session and re-established positions during the discussion of the plan.

What is the Treaty of Escazú?

The Escazú Agreement proposes to promote the participation of citizens in environmental protection and the protection of the rights of its leaders.But for some sectors the benefits of this initiative are not real.

“In initiatives like Escazú, we will give up our sovereignty to environmental courts and international judicial bodies, and we will oppose the intention of creating what I called ‘JEP Agraria’, which creates more bureaucratic positions and endangers property rights and legal certainty,” said Cabal.

Indeed, the Democratic Center reiterated its position on the Escazú agreement and announced it would vote against the initiative. “After a thorough legal and political analysis of the treaty, our bench finds that Escazú represents a loss of Colombia’s sovereignty because it is a treaty that considers the spread of international law over internal order.”

“Advances in terms of environmental rights have made enormous progress in Colombia’s constitutional, legal and judicial order, unlike other countries in the region; there are many cases that prove it. Therefore, to protect the environment, the participation of communities and the safety of community leaders, the country does not have to expose itself to an agreement like Escazú, which creates legal uncertainty and regulatory duplicity and puts everyone at risk. Regardless of their size, social status and/or function”.

There are still three more debates to be approved in the Republican Congress, but many senators expressed their delight at the first step in that direction taken in April of last year. The issue remains a thorn in the side as Ivan Dug has left this task on the back burner regardless of pressure from the international community.

A majority bench in the Senate and House of Representatives to approve the initiative is the confirmation of the historic deal.