President Gustavo Petro met with Lidio García, head of Congress, at the Casa de Nariño: "Why are we going to fight? There's no need."

Contrary to what happened with the last two presidents of Congress, with whom President Gustavo Petro took several weeks to meet after his election, Lidio García , the new head of the Legislature, was invited to the Casa de Nariño only two days after being proclaimed by the Senate.

The meeting took place on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 22, at the presidential palace. There, the Liberal senator, elected president of the Senate this Sunday, July 20, was received by President Petro's inner circle: Alfredo Saade (Chief of Staff), Armando Benedetti (Minister of the Interior), and Angie Rodríguez (Director of the DAPRE).

García, speaking to the media, confirmed that he spoke with the president about the legislative agenda, including the tax reform that the government will insist on this year.

"We discussed a multitude of reform projects: healthcare reform, tax reform, which I think is very complicated at this point for many reasons. We're heading into an election year, it's unpopular, but they have every right to present it, and the doors are open," García asserted after the meeting.

But President Petro is determined to introduce the tax reform, so much so that he has already issued several warnings to Congress to approve the initiative, contrary to what happened in December of last year when a similar bill was shelved.

"If Congress sinks the tax reform again, it will condemn public finances to death within the next five years," the president said Tuesday on his X social media account.

The head of the legislature also mentioned another key point of the conversation: the controversial subjugation law introduced on Sunday by Justice Minister Eduardo Montealegre.

"It's a rather complicated and difficult proposal, which should be widely disseminated. I believe it should be discussed first with the higher courts, to assess whether it can be brought to Congress more smoothly and accurately through negotiation, dialogue, and proposals. Otherwise, I see something that could cause a lot of legislative problems," García asserted.

Liberal Lidio García takes over as president of Congress, preceded by Iván Name and Efraín Cepeda, whose terms were marked by constant clashes with the head of state.

Regarding this, the head of the Legislature asserted that it is necessary to reduce political confrontation: "Everyone has their own temperament, their own way of acting and responding. Why should we fight? There's no need for that. What I'm seeking is political peace, first on our own stage, which is the natural setting of democracy, and then for the President to allow that to exist," asserted García, who is serving as president of the Senate for the second time.