President Gustavo Petro and Vice President Francia Márquez in the middle of the full Congress.
Photo: Mauricio Alvarado Lozada
In the midst of the turbulent final stretch of the second year of Congress, Gustavo Petro’s government coalition is betting on defining the route they will take in the face of the premature campaign for 2026. While the future of reforms such as the pension, the labor and education, while a tough front is opening due to the implementation of the Peace Agreement and the noises of a constituent process, the congressmen who accompany the president will use what seems to be the only way to maintain some of the political capital reached in 2022.
It is about the formation of a single community that would be born from the fusion of the ten parties that today come together in the Historical Pact. Although at one point the proposal generated friction and several doubts, today a majority seems to be convinced that it is a necessary alternative, even more so when opposition voices call for forming an “anti-petro” bloc for the next elections.
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In the midst of the key debates and votes on Capitol Hill, several members of the Pact have begun to promote the idea of restarting, as soon as possible, negotiations between the parties that are interested in the move. This newspaper learned that the strongest or most traditional representatives—Colombia Humana, Polo Democrático, Unión Patriótica—are completely committed to the bet and that even their congressmen are already working with the regional directorates.
However, doubt remains about some smaller parties that have presidential candidates in their ranks, such as Roy Barreras (Fuerza de la Paz), Carlos Caicedo (Fuerza Ciudadana) and Daniel Quintero (Independientes). They, although they have not completely ruled out the proposal, are asking for clear rules of the game when choosing the candidate for the House of Nariño and the lists for the Senate and Chamber.
At this point the proposal appears to carry out a kind of consultation or primary elections in which everyone can compete on equal terms for the privileged seats. A senior government official told this media that everyone has already agreed to discard the so-called “pen” dictatorship, so they will have to find a mechanism of internal democracy that will leave them all happy.
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“It is no secret to anyone that President Petro wants us to continue with the closed lists; There is some consensus there, but what has been requested is that there be primaries for the construction of order. There is a discussion around this issue and that will be one of the keys to our great assembly on July 20,” representative Alejandro Toro told this newspaper.
His benchmate, representative Alejandro Ocampo, agreed with the proposal and assured that they are already analyzing the mechanisms for the merger. “It is not easy to tell everyone that we should run to make a match, we have to talk about the arrival, about how the candidacies are going to be defined, because we are not going to allow it to be done by hand; The idea of the consultation sounds familiar to me,” he said.
A good part of the Historical Pact agreed that the proposal will finish seeing the light once the second legislature ends, so they hope that, no later than August or September, everyone will have clear rules of the game to decide whether to join or not. . What happens in the assembly, which will take place at the National University and probably with the participation of the president, will be key to knowing the direction of the idea.
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Several doubts still remain to be resolved, such as what will happen to the Indigenous and Social Alternative Movement (MAIS), which a few months ago departed from the proposal arguing that it is a movement that was born with the 1991 Constitution and must maintain its status to represent to those ethnic communities. However, according to some voices in the ruling party, since this is a legal matter, there is still the possibility of changing their minds.
The issue of MAIS is fundamental because it is the community that endorsed important figures of the bench such as María José Pizarro and David Racero, which is why, according to congressmen and even government officials, if the merger does not take place, both would have to resign in advance to be able to continue in the new block.
Also on the table is the discussion of the future of some Petrist congressmen or those very close to that project who are in parties that are not part of the Pact, such as En Marcha, the Independent Social Alliance (ASI) and the Green Alliance, among others. At this point, the strategy of keeping the initiative alive to support transfuguism has come to light, with which many could land in the government coalition without facing the possible loss of their seat due to double militancy.
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“Transfuguism is going to be presented again, it will continue to be an option for those whose parties will not reach the new one; In fact, several congressmen have asked for it because it is a way out for many who are bored and want to have other possibilities,” said representative Alejandro Ocampo.
Although the path seems clear, there are still several issues of method that will surely generate strong discussions within the ruling party, such as defining whether a new personhood will be created or everyone will renounce the others to join only one. In any case, the majorities ask to respect the trends, since progressives, socialists, communists, among others, would enter that large party. “The idea is to maintain unity in the midst of difference,” said Representative Toro.
To close this type of debate, some even ask to look at other examples, specifically that of Mexico, with the case of Morena. Added to all this is that, according to the same congressmen of the Historical Pact, if the fusion of legal entities works, the next step will be to convene a “broad front” with the forces of the center-left, an idea that President Petro has already launched in several scenarios. .
