From Maria Fernanda Cabal to Rodolfo Hernandez

After thinking about it for several days, Rodolfo Hernandez, an engineer from Santander, decided he would take the opposition senator seat he complies with by law after coming second in the presidential election.

However, despite the fact that the seat he will occupy has been created so that he is the second In the presidential elections, opposed to the President of the Republic, the former mayor of Bucaramanga asserted that he was not interested in occupying this role in fomenting Petro discord.

Hernandez announced that he would not be a senator, but an independent, A politician will approve projects that he considers beneficial to the country, but will reject those that are detrimental to the interests of Colombians.

These statements were not liked by Senator Maria Fernanda Caballe, who stands as one of the strongest voices opposing the new government.

“The law obliges him to permit the exercise of opposition,” Cabal told Hernandez.

The senator’s vote and the Democratic Center, an always disciplined bloc in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, will be key to the opposition in the next four years.

Miguel Uribe Torbay, the senator for Uribe with the most votes, has also committed himself in the last few hours to those who do not share Gustavo Petro’s ideas.

From the Senate I will protect Colombians and defend democracy and freedom. I will make a clever opposition: think first of Columbia; Based on facts and not on hate. To build, not destroy. Sane, not stubborn, this is comprehensive and not sectarian,” he repeated on Sunday evening.

Other aspirations

Hernandez is not very interested in this opposition role not only because he sympathizes with Petro, but also because he appears to have other political aspirations.

Although he agreed to take the position, the future of Rodolfo Hernandez could not be in the legislature. Sources close to the former presidential candidate said week That Hernandez will be no more than two months in the Senate of the Republic, seeking to aspire to the position of Governor of Santander in 2023.

According to the opposition statute, the engineer is already a senator. If he does not take office, the former candidate will leave office, bringing with him an administrative process that may block his ambition in 2023.

In turn, as a member of Congress, he would support the legal argument of the leaders of the Anti-Corruption League for legal status, as happened with Gustavo Pietro Colombia Humana.

In addition, there is another element that can become relevant when deciding on the judicial proceedings to be taken by the Office of the Prosecutor against Hernandez for alleged corruption. Once installed in the Senate, The case should go for review by the High Court of Justice.

The new Congress takes office on July 20, and the trial of the former presidential candidate is scheduled to begin on July 21, a day later. Once in the Senate, Hernandez acquires appraisal status, which means he will receive special judicial protection.

According to the experts, when assessing, the process against Hernandez will have to be reviewed by the Supreme Court of Justice, a court that, according to criminal lawyer Francisco Bernat, “will have to analyze whether to continue the trial or leave in the first instance court” Bucaramanga.