Although the Historical Pact was the most voted seat in the Congress of the Republic, parties that are not part of its coalition and differ politically with their proposals accumulate a greater presence in both chambers. To ensure governance in a possible government of Gustavo Petro, they have sought to join alliances with ideologically close benches and consolidate a possible majority.
For that reason, Roy Barreras, elected senator and head of parliamentary debate, achieved an important annexation to Petro's presidential campaign: nine of the 16 elected representatives in the Special Transitional Peace Constituencies will be part of the campaign.
“Nine peace representatives in the House, from representatives who decide to join us in our effort to win the Presidency. In other words, the majority grand coalition that we are shaping from the perspective of governance in the next four years is almost guaranteed by the election of the Historical Pact bench, by the election of other banks of progressive forces and the majority of the peace bench,” Petro said during the announcement.
Barreras said that with the 20 seats elected in the Senate of the Republic of the Historical Pact, plus the two indigenous senators and hope to reach 40. As for the House of Representatives, it calculates, they go from 31 to 38 related to the Historical Covenant. “The bench of representatives to the House, the bench of senators, articulated by life and peace, be sure that they already have the peace of mind to offer Colombia governance, governance and majorities for this government of peace and life,” said the senator.
Although this new bench was announced by some as more seats in the House of Representatives and will support Petro's campaign, the presidential candidate said it is not a coalition membership.
According to Petro, the representatives of the Citrep as a “peace bench” will remain autonomous and independent and are part of a broad convergence of political forces, in which some congressmen elected from the Green Alliance party have also been included and there are dialogues with some of the Liberal Party, which was third most voted in Senate.
“We are looking for political meetings so that the government that wins the majority is not the one that keeps things the way they are, but that changes Colombia for life,” Petro said during the event held in the Congressional Constitution Hall.
“We are in the prospect of growth with most of the territorial forces of the Green Party, Fuerza Ciudadana and now with the majority of the peace bench,” added the candidate, who raised the need to achieve 98 similar seats in the Chamber. For his part, Senator Barreras says that they are still in talks with some representatives Citrep, but he assured that some were co-opted by political and paramilitary clans.
Those who will support Petro from the peace seats are Juan Pablo Salazar Rivera (Citrep 1) of Asointec; Karen Astrith Manrique Olarte (Citrep 2) of the Intercultural and Regional Victims Association; John Jairo González (Citrep 3); Diogenes Quintero (Citrep 4); John Fredy Núñez (Citrep 5); William Ferney Aljure (Citrep 7); Luis Ramiro Ricardo (Citrep 8); Orlando Castillo (Citrep 9); Gerson Lysimaco Montaño (Citrep 10); John Fredy Valencia (Citrep 11); Juan Carlos Vargas Soler (Citrep 13) and Karen Juliana Lopez (Citrep 16).
Barreras continues to seek support, even meeting with María José Pizarro with former president Ernesto Samper. Petro, for his part, said that announcements will be made in the coming days of other accessions to his campaign.
The presidential candidate of the Historical Pact maintains his seat in the Senate and said that he does not want to resign because he “does not want to be left in the hands of the Prosecutor's Office”, because he feels that he has no guarantees in that body of congressman to continue his campaign.
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