Colombian journalist Maria Ximena Dusan, who at one time supported the candidacy of the current president Gustavo Petro and even participated in peace negotiations between the government and National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas, publishing an open letter to the President of Colombia, calling on him to clarify his health problems.

In a column in Cambio MagazineDusan calls on the president If you have an addiction problem, talk about it publicly, after citing “sources” who assure him that this is so

“President, if you have an addiction problem, I respectfully invite you to disclose it. Drug addiction is a health problem that affects many Colombians and “Accepting this is neither a sin nor a moral failure,” The political scientist also notes.

On an issue that has already become the subject of public debate and accusations from the opposition, Peter spoke in mid-August on the social network X (formerly Twitter): “Now they want to confuse the fact that I’m not going to the event with the fact that I have a supposed illness.”

At the beginning of the Sunday letter, the journalist clarifies that she is writing to him from “the respect and attention he deserves” since he supported him in the 2022 elections, in which he won in the second round (50.44%) over Rodolfo Hernandez (47.31%).

“I saw his victory as a breath of fresh air that brought hope back to stagnant Colombian politics.” […] I always believed that his rise to power was an act of maturity because “For the first time, the political system opened the door to a leftist project without killing its candidate,” indicates that.

However, he explains that after one and a half years of rule, many opportunities were lost and there is a feeling of “mismanagement” The president “seems tired and overwhelmed with power,” as if he didn’t know what to do with it when he received it.

Dusan reminds the Colombian President that while economic forces have excessive power, Petro has the power issue decrees and formulate and implement public policies, the same ones that he does not use, in addition to reminding him of his constant absences.

“I don’t know if you know this, but your constant absences leave the country in tension, plunging it into uncertainty and They serve their subordinates only to accumulate power and control them in a way that suits them. and they lie to the country, making up stories to justify their absence that no one else believes,” he notes.

“In searching for an explanation for why you became so entrenched, I found a possible reason: there are sources who assure me that the reasons for your disappearances, which are becoming increasingly frequent and prolonged, are due to the fact that you wanted to keep your addiction problem a secret. If it’s true “You have to be honest first with yourself and then with the country that elected you and tell us what is happening to you,” – the journalist’s claims to the president.

It reminds you that if you have an addiction problem, there is a solution if it is treated early. “Let us acknowledge, President, that the country and its political project are at stake. If you want to change Colombia once and for all, you need to come clean and stop lying to us. The hardest thing about addiction is accepting it. Once this happens, the addict will be freed and can begin their recovery. If you did, you would have a clear path to governing, and the country that elected you would continue to believe in you.”

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The columnist tells Peter that “he has no right” to “live a double life” because it makes him “an easy target for blackmail and deprives him of a clear mind to control.”

“This country elected you as president and needs you to lead. You yourself have said that drugs are primarily a public health problem and that the war on drugs has failed. Admitting that you have an addiction cannot be a sin or shame. but it is an act of deep honesty,” the open letter concludes.