Former minister Luis Carlos Reyes's jab at Congress with a jam recipe: "The only kind that should exist."

Following his departure from the government, former Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism and former director of the Dian (National Institute of National Statistics), Luis Carlos Reyes, has reactivated his social media presence, where he has questioned some of the decisions and actions of President Gustavo Petro's administration and Congress.

This Tuesday, May 20, Reyes posted a new video on his TikTok account in which he took a swipe at Congress for the so-called "marmalade," a practice that involves distributing public funds and positions to parliamentarians in order to advance certain political causes.

The former minister launched his dig at the issue through "a blackberry jam recipe" that he described as "the only type of jam that should exist in Colombia."

In his TikTok video, which is narrated by a woman who is said to be his wife, the former minister begins by listing what is needed to prepare the blackberry jam and points out that, "unlike the jam that is made in Congress," the recipe he will prepare will clearly state the ingredients.

"Unlike the jam cooked up in the economic committees of the Congress of the Republic and the Ministry of Finance, here we start by making the ingredients very clear," he says.

Reyes mentions that what he's going to prepare requires a small bowl of blackberries, a cup of blackberries, a third of a cup of sugar, along with the juice of half a lemon and some lemon wedges. He then proceeds to draw a parallel between the Senate and the House of Representatives.

"Unfortunately, the Congressional jam recipe is notoriously confusing," the former official says in his video.

In the video, in which the man also known as "Mr. Taxes" appears in pajamas, he mentions that in Congress, you never know from the start what kind of jam is being prepared or who will be eating it.

Unfortunately, the Congressional jam recipe is characterized by how confusing it is.

"The operating and investment categories, with investment projects that don't clearly state what's being cooked up or what region of the country the money is going to, obscure more than they clarify. That's why we don't know from the start whether it's blackberry jam, strawberry jam, or mango rice jam, nor in what region of the country it will be consumed, nor by whom it will be consumed," he said.

To prepare his recipe, Reyes goes on to point out that all the ingredients must be "put into the budget pot" and cooked over low heat, not over a "pupitreado" (a kind of "pupitreado"), taking another swipe at the Colombian legislature.

He then adds that "for homemade jam, it's key to have a well-lit and ventilated kitchen, but with the national budget, things are different."

In this regard, the voice narrating the video points out that the most important debates in the legislature take place behind closed doors between a few congressmen and officials, along with some departments of the Ministry of Finance.

There, according to him, the "traceability of ingredients is lost and spoonfuls of jam disappear," referring to the projects being processed and the money lost in alleged payments to congressmen.

The stolen money is recorded in an Excel spreadsheet, which shows how much money each congressman is entitled to, and in which mayor or governorate is a friend of the congressman.

"The stolen money is recorded in an Excel spreadsheet, which shows how much money each congressman is entitled to, which mayor or governor's office is friendly to the congressman, and which contractor to go to when the money has cooled and we citizens have lost track of it," he added.

Reyes concludes the video by stating that "the only way to ensure that the nation's general budget doesn't become a mess is through a transparent regionalized programmatic budget" and, above all, through transparent debate in Congress.

@luiscarlosrh ♬ original sound - Luis Carlos Reyes

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