From Villavicencio, capital of the department of Meta, the president explained that the Special Assets Society (SAE) has done an exemplary job in the country, according to the Government’s website.

The assets recovered or having been handed over by drug traffickers are being given to the people, he said after recalling how in the past drug traffickers got hold of properties that were the product of their illicit business and then they were captured and extradited. Then these properties remained in the hands of politicians.

Not now, Petro emphasized, stressing that everything we can discover (about land ownership by drug traffickers) can be passed on to the simple and hard-working people, to the neighborhoods.

In this government, all the land of the SAE is going to pass to the people, he insisted.

He also indicated that the land recovered from drug traffickers will be destined to the construction of social housing projects.

I believe that we must change the order of priorities. Where there is the greatest housing deficiency is in rural areas; almost four million Colombians do not have their own home. That is where we should make an effort and pay off that debt’, he added.

In his speech, he also said this government will give priority to housing improvement. We want to repair one hundred thousand homes a year. If we continue on this path, it will allow the vast majority of Colombians to have decent housing’, he said.

Social programs are a priority in the Government of Change led by President Petro.

To the Congress for its radicalization are reforms in the health system, labor and pensions.

ef/jav/mem/alb.