Amid alleged threats, intimidation and armed groups, Jorge 40's son was left with a peace seat

The legislative elections of last Sunday, March 13, left surprises regarding new candidates who will occupy seats in the congress, in addition to this, the novelty is the 16 new seats corresponding to the Special Constituencies for Peace, which elected their representatives highlighting as victims of the conflict, however, This adds to a strong controversy over the election of a representative who arrives from the Sierra Nevada and Serranía del Perijá CITREP, is Jorge 'yoyo' Tovar, who won this seat with 67,079 votes, however, the remarks do not stop, since the representative is the son of the condemned paramilitary Jorge 40.

Jorge Tovar, 32, announced in 2021 that he would aspire to a peace seat for Circumscription number 12, made up of the departments of Cesar, Magdalena and La Guajira, this fact caused a strong controversy, since 'Yoyo' Tovar is the son of one of the bloodiest paramilitary chiefs in the history of the country, and despite the fact that the representative elect also claims to be victims of the conflict, many communities that suffered the harshness of paramilitarism, affirmed that this political movement re-victimizes and generates fear in several citizens.

The card of the 'Yoyo Tovar' is registered in the district of Azúcar Buena in the municipality of La Mesa, César, according to the La Nueva Prensa media, the candidate Juan Hinojosa González, sought to campaign and access this district in order to make his name known in the face of the elections, however, different leaders of this region warned him that it was not convenient to get to this place, considering that, there was evidence of the presence of about 30 men who were armed with long-range weapons, therefore, he asserted that what they were looking for was that in this place, everyone will vote for the son of Jorge 40.

Hinojosa's complaint is not the only one, since several candidates told La Nueva Prensa that it was impossible to campaign in different districts and municipalities that made up constituency number 12, since the presence of armed men restricted mobility, moreover, the authorities were not doing anything against this, some social leaders even indicated to the candidate that there was a fear similar to that of the time of paramilitarism in this area.

The New Press was able to establish contact with Claudia Vázquez, who was also aspiring to a peace seat. The candidate denounced several threats as she was looking to meet in Aracataca with part of the community. Before this, Jorge Tovar had already been there, after the candidate's visit, she sure that the presence of armed groups that began patrolling in this area makes it impossible to access them, limiting their guarantees and making it clear that the votes in this region would go, for the son of the former paramilitary chief.

Some villagers told a candidate who decided to reserve her identity, that they had informed them that if they did not vote for the 'Yoyo' “things were going to get ugly”, added to this, the applicant assures that she was banned from campaigning in several districts in the capital of Caesar, after that a paramilitary chief who did not identified, contacted her to demand a meeting to which the woman refused to attend, then asked her for clothing and a contribution for the purchase of weapons and war material, after her refusal, she said she fears the consequences.

This type of situation caused several candidates, victims of the armed conflict, chained themselves in protest to the registry office of Valledupar, capital of César, as they stated that they did not have the guarantees to exercise their political right, after this demonstration they ended up giving up their aspiration to the Chamber of Representatives.

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