Colombian President Gustavo Petro has demanded the resignation of all members of his government, which is trying to pass bills in Congress, three government ministers told AFP today.

The Petro request, confirmed by senior officials on condition of anonymity, has yet to be formalized by the Colombian president himself, the country’s first left-wing president. Yesterday Tuesday, he tweeted about the “government reshuffle”.

Although he has been in office since August 7, Petros has not implemented the profound changes he promised during his campaign in the areas of work, health care, pensions and justice.

The Liberal Party, the Conservative Party and the U (Centre) Party, which left the government on Tuesday, opposed the government’s initiatives.

During a public event, the President of Colombia stated that an “emergency government” should be formed in Colombia “because Congress has failed in a simple and peaceful way to pass a law” for a fair redistribution of land.

So far, none of the government ministers has resigned.

The first government formed by President Petros was based on the centre, the right and academia rather than the left that brought him to power. Since taking office, many government officials have resigned, and in late February, Petros fired three of his ministers.

On February 15, Petros called on his supporters to take to the streets to support his reforms. From the balcony of the presidential palace, he warned that he would continue to call for demonstrations until “change” became a reality.

On February 28, he fired three of his ministers, including the centrist Alejandro Gaviria from the education ministry, whose criticism of the government’s proposed health care reform was leaked to the press. He also fired former Olympic gold medalist Maria Isabel Urrutia from the Ministry of Sports due to a corruption scandal in which she was implicated, and Patricia Ariza from the Ministry of Culture, without explaining the reasons for his decision.

In addition to the government’s failure to pass bills in Congress, Petro tried unsuccessfully to bring peace with all illegal militias in the country.

Rebels from the National Liberation Army (NLA), who participated in the peace talks, refused to join the bilateral ceasefire proposed by the government on 31 December. The del Golfo clan, the country’s most powerful drug cartel, was also included in the truce, but the president resumed hostilities against them after the cartel attacked civilians and security forces.

As mayor of Bogota (2012–2015), Gustavo Petro had to deal with constant changes in his composition, due to resignations or his own decisions.

Source: APE-MPE, AFP, Reuters.