Hernández's response on being called the Colombian Trump 1:04
(CNN Spanish) --
Rodolfo Hernández, who will face Gustavo Petro in the second round of the Colombian elections on Sunday, June 19, defended in an interview on "Oppenheimer Presenta" the reestablishment of relations with Venezuela that he proposes and he argued that the decisions made by the country should be "respectful".
To open relations with Venezuela, you do not "need to be a friend" of the questioned president Nicolás Maduro, but rather it implies a "mutual respect for political decisions," Hernández said when asked by Andrés Oppenheimer in the interview that is broadcast on CNN en Español .
"I don't have a reason to get involved in their political decisions, so they don't get involved here either," he said, and asked himself, alluding to current Colombian politics: "How are they going to close consular relations because some politicians They do not agree and the ordinary people are the ones who suffer all the rigors of not having the Colombia-Venezuela consular services?
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The candidate of the League of Anti-Corruption Governors insisted on his approach with respect to the neighboring country: "I cannot get involved in giving an opinion on the political, economic, social life of a country so that they do not get involved here, the problems of Venezuela that let the Venezuelans fix it (...) We have to solve the problems of the Colombians. Who are the allies? All those who don't mess with us."
Asked if he would recognize the Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela, something that the current president, Iván Duque, has done, Hernández replied: "I am not an expert in international politics. I am a civil engineer from the National University of Colombia, in Bogotá. There will be people who know about this issue. There are many people in Colombia who know about this issue, but I'm not going to worry about recognizing governments that have already elected Venezuelans according to their standards."
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Faced with this question, Hernández insisted on his approach: "That they fix it there. That is not the job of the president of Colombia."
"Unless there is a veto through an international organization that prohibits that," he said, something that up to now is not known to have happened.
Petro, the candidate of the Historical Pact, also proposes to restore diplomatic relations with Venezuela.
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Petro and Hernández, under the magnifying glass for complaints and accusations 2:49
From the reference to Hitler to the accusations of machismo, the responses of Rodolfo Hernández
Hernández also referred during the interview to the episode in which he stated in 2016 that he admired Adolf Hitler, something that, he said later, was a "lapse" because the one he wanted to mention was actually Albert Einstein.
"Whoever says that he hasn't made a mistake, an error, a lapse, well, I don't know what planet or what race he is from," he said.
"I apologized, I gave the explanations, I apologized to the Jewish people. But I am made of flesh and blood, of flesh and bones. So I was wrong. And making mistakes is normal. What is serious is insisting on the error or on the mistake" , he added.
The 5 key proposals of Rodolfo Hernández to be president of Colombia
The presidential candidate has also faced accusations of machismo, for example after recently saying in an interview that "people don't like women involved in government."
Hernández made it clear that he was not referring to elected women but to the position of first lady, but do you think she will cost him votes?
"It is that they asked me if I was going to keep the office of the first lady as it is designed today. For me that is harmful, because it is bringing feelings to the public administration when the lady was not legitimately elected in a popular election. She can collaborate everything from home, from here at the company," he said.
Hernández affirmed that during his mayoralty in Bucaramanga, 60% of the positions at the executive level were occupied by women and that he also maintains that proportion in his company, affirmations that CNN has not been able to verify independently.
In addition, he said that these accusations without a "montage to discredit" his actions.
"I don't pay attention to that, and I think Colombians don't," he said.
"I sleep like a little Chinese, I didn't steal a single peso"
The focus of Hernández's campaign is on the fight against corruption and he has mentioned actions such as eliminating the use of presidential planes, reducing the fleet of cars used by officials, closing embassies, turning the presidential palace into a museum.
Oppenheimer asked him if he didn't think that was simplistic and that it might not reduce poverty or solve corruption.
"It could be that compared to what politicians steal, that is alms. What you say is true, but I have to govern by example. There is nothing more effective than governing by example. Let's start with That. For removing those luxuries that are not justified or improve the dignity of the poorest people, "replied the candidate.
He says that the focus, however, has to be on public works contracting, which is "where everything is stolen" and that his objective is to reduce direct and indirect costs by 30%.
This was the passage of Rodolfo Hernández by the mayor of Bucaramanga
Hernández acknowledged in an interview with El Tiempo that he has 38 corruption investigations in Bucaramanga and at least one criminal charge.
On CNN he stated that there could be 200 and he has 38 left because 162 were archived.
"Those politicians in Bucaramanga, politicians, thieves, robbers, the goal was to get me out of the mayor's office," he said about the complaints, stating that "any Colombian today, with the existing legislation, I can file a criminal lawsuit for any issue and the judge receives it and you have to appoint a proxy. Then, after ten years, it turns out that you are innocent, but they did you harm."
"I sleep like a little Chinese (child), I did not steal a single peso," he remarked.
"It makes me laugh": on being called the Colombian Trump
Hernández has been characterized as the Colombian Donald Trump, or even the Colombian Nayib Bukele, "It doesn't bother me," he said about it.
And he stated: "We are going to comply with everything that is the democratic legal system. We are not going to attack anything that is written in a law. On the contrary, (what) we are going to attack is poverty."
"That they call me the Colombian Trump for doing that, magnificent, it makes me laugh. And the Colombian Bukele, it makes me laugh. Although surely those world-class figures will have done something that people like and has been beneficial for each one of them." the countries where they were, or if not, (not) have (sic) that world prestige", he affirmed.
"I've lost control two or three times"
Among the multiple controversies that surround Hernández, several are linked to the way he speaks and altercations that even became physical, such as when he hit a councilman when he was mayor of Bucaramanga.
Petro, for his part, recently tweeted that his rival had been "disrespectful, aggressive" and "almost violent" with a journalist.
"I am the most peaceful thing there is. I invite you to read or find out about the interview they did with my wife. He said 'he pretends, people think he's brave and he's a meringue,'" he replied when asked. about his character.
"In 52 years, surely, like every human being, I have lost control two or three times. Now, Petro can't find what to invent. He can't find what to invent to win. Well, with those inventions he is going to lose resoundingly. I am the more peaceful man, let them find out here in Bucaramanga, what I do not allow myself to do is get on top of the politicians," he concluded.
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