Bogota Mayor Meets Petro to Discuss Insecurity and Mobility

Carlos Galan, the Mayor of Bogota, and Gustavo Petro, the President of Colombia, had a meeting on Tuesday, February 27. This gathering took place at the presidential palace. They discussed the rising crime rates in the capital and reviewed the development of the Regiotram project. This commuter train initiative aims to link Bogota with neighboring cities.

On crime rates, Mayor Galan delved into the debate on gun access in Colombia, highlighting his administration’s efforts to pinpoint and dismantle the illegal markets fueling weapon supply to criminals. Galan also touched on the ongoing national conversation about possibly easing gun access for citizens as a self-defense measure against crime.

Regarding mobility, Galan secured President Petro’s backing for the Regiotram project. This project is set to enhance rail connectivity in Bogota’s west, linking it with the cities of Funza, Mosquera, Madrid, and Facatativa.

Strengthening the security forces

The debate over access to guns as a protective measure is more lively than ever, especially with the increase in crime in the capital. Once again, some political sectors in the country have bet on legalizing the carrying of weapons to confront criminals. However, the mayor of the capital has disagreed with this proposal. “Weapons should be a monopoly of the public forces,” said the mayor yesterday.

With these declarations, Galan clearly positions himself against some conservative elements of Colombian politics that have recently revived the old debate. “I am a supporter of the fact that arms should be a monopoly of the public force, I have to work on that basis,” he said.

The mayor also announced that his government will implement a plan to tackle the illegal sale of weapons, a market that ends up feeding the various criminal gangs operating in Bogota. “The police are instructed to work and identify those places where there are illegal arms markets, and criminals are provided with weapons, in order to act. We are going to attack those places, that will be part of the effort”, he affirmed.

On this point, he agrees with the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, although in statements to the press he specified that they had not discussed the issue in the meeting he held yesterday with the head of state.

Regiotram, the railroad of the West

Among the projects to improve the capital’s dismal mobility, the Regiotram is a proposal that Galan inherited from his predecessor, Mayor Claudia Lopez (2019-2023). This project, which is in the construction phase of part of its infrastructure, will connect the center of the country’s capital with the cities that surround it to the west. The idea is to create a true metropolitan area with easy connectivity.

The future rail line will have 17 stations, including nine in Bogota, and will be integrated with the city’s public transportation system, including the first metro line at the central station on 26th street 26 and Caracas Avenue.

The economic participation of the national government will finance 210,000 million pesos for the Regiotram with resources from the state-owned Ecopetrol. “It is going to be financed from Ecopetrol and Cenit to guarantee that the intervention can be covered with part of the profits that, in the oil production component, the nation receives…..so that a subsidy is generated between public transport users and Regiotram,” said the Minister of Transport, William Camargo, also present at the meeting.

Construction work on the transportation infrastructure, including workshops for vehicles, is moving forward. Discussions are also underway with the National Environmental Licensing Authority to secure the necessary environmental permits for beginning the construction of tracks and stations.