Colombian president declares economic, social emergency in La Guajira

​​​​​​​By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Colombian President Gustavo Petro declared a state of economic and social emergency in La Guajira, a department in the north that is threatened by an unprecedented drought.

The measure announced Thursday allows the president to issue decrees aimed at averting the crisis.

"It is absolutely appropriate to decree the economic and social emergency because a public calamity is looming. All climate models are warning us about an impending drought that has never been seen before in La Guajira, which will worsen the effects of El Nino," Petro said from the department's capital of Riohacha.

Petro has said he intends to alleviate the crisis caused by a shortage of water, and child malnutrition, which would probably worsen due to the unprecedented drought. He announced the first priority will be “providing drinking water for human consumption" in the region that is predominantly inhabited by Indigenous communities living in poverty.

The president announced the creation of a water entity in La Guajira, which will be in charge of distributing and prioritizing water resources.

He also said the army will be bringing drinking water to remote towns in fleets of equipped vehicles, rehabilitating partially constructed wells and constructing a pipeline to bring water.

"Water will not be treated as a commodity," he said.

The opposition warned it is not necessary to decree an emergency to address the crisis.

The decrees issued by the government to comply with the measure adopted in La Guajira will have to be reviewed by the Constitutional Court.