At the head of the Colombian capital for a few months, Claudia Lopez, the first female mayor of Bogotá has been able to be a pioneer in the management of the Covid-19 crisis in her country. Decisions that earned him some success but also trouble with President Ivan Duque.
- Claudia Lopez, first female mayor of Bogota, was the first in her country to decide on the confinement of the population
- Since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic, it has multiplied social initiatives aimed at the most disadvantaged
- A poll illustrates his popularity rating with 89% of favorable opinions
Incredible baptism of fire for the first female mayor of Bogota. At the helm of the capital for just a few months, Claudia Lopez is now garnering praise from her supporters as well as her political opponents, reports El Pais. Seen as a pioneer in the fight against Covid-19 in Colombia, this center-left politician instituted quarantine on March 19 when the country had only 102 confirmed cases in the country. A measure replicated five days later on a national scale and which made it possible to slow down the number of contamination.
To encourage residents living in the informal economy to stay at home, the mayor has set up food aid and the payment of a subsistence pension to the 500,000 most deprived families. Despite some hiccups related to the delay in payment of pensions at the start of confinement, El Pais observes that Claudia Lopez organized fundraisers and recovered the equivalent of 13 million dollars to finance her social policy and disease prevention.
Atypical profile
A political energy carried by her talents as a speaker. A doctor in political science, she made a name for herself a few years ago by denouncing the links between the paramilitary mafias and several members of Colombian political personnel. At the head of a center-left and environmentalist coalition, the mayor of Bogotá did not hide her relationship with another senator.
Recognized for “her tough character”, her outings sometimes split even in her own camp. So far, Claudia Lopez clearly explains her strategy to fight Covid-19. A course that contrasts with the trial and error of the executive according to the Spanish newspaper. According to Invamer, Claudia Lopez’s popularity rating has reached 89% favorable opinions. A plebiscite never equaled since the beginning of the measures 26 years ago for the mayor of Bogotá. According to this same poll, Ivan Duqué, the Colombian president, obtains 52% of favorable opinions.
Tensions with the presidency
The current coronavirus crisis in Colombia reveals a power struggle between the presidency and the mayor of the capital. Claudia Lopez has annoyed the government by criticizing the closure, according to her, late of the international airport of Bogotá. Another palpable tension: the Colombian president, herald of tough law and close to economic circles, seems to be torn between the protection of the inhabitants and the need for a rapid economic recovery. For the mayor of the capital, the health of its 7 million citizens is her first objective.
However, the opening of a preliminary investigation for violation of containment was opened by a close friend of the president against Claudia Lopez and his wife seen together in a supermarket at the end of April while the containment limits the movement of a single person per household. On her Twitter account, the mayor recognizes her mistake, aggravated by the fact that she must lead by example. Then she concludes her message “controversies with the president should not be settled by the OTP”.
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