Congress of Colombia will reconvene fully face-to-face after two years of restrictions

With the arrival of covid-19 in Colombia, there were many changes, especially in the working patterns due to the high levels of contagion experienced for two years in the country. After the implementation of the vaccination and the success it had, as shown by the Ministry of Health, authorization was given for economic reactivation and this meant that various sectors returned to face-to-face.

After six months where colleges, universities, factories, among others, adapted to normality again, on April 19, the Congress of the Republic announced that they will return to 100% face-to-face, after two years when its members legislated from their homes and in mixed mode.

According to the Confidential Colombia portal, which spoke with Gregorio Eljach Pacheco, Secretary General of the Senate, the senators were sent a situation in which they were warned that the plenary session on April 19 will be held in person and none of the officials will receive a link or a virtual summons, which that is to say that from now on there will be no possibility that they work from a distance.

“On the instructions of the Honorable President Senator Juan Diego Gómez Jiménez, allow me to inform that the plenary session for tomorrow, Tuesday, April 19, 2022, will be held in person,” the message received by the legislators reads.

After the announcement, congressmen will have to comply with the biosafety protocols that are still in force by State orders, such as: wearing masks in closed places, washing hands, distancing; and in case of presenting systems notify, carrying out their proper isolation and taking the PCR test.

Despite the fact that the senate will return to normal, what happened with covid-19, it left the possibility that in extreme cases where a similar situation would occur in the future, the power organ could again seek the option of virtuality or mixed modality work. However, it is important to mention that for various reasons it was important for Congress to return to face-to-face, since in the two years that the restriction was maintained there were some episodes that raised criticism.

For example, in some sessions where cameras and microphones were left open, episodes were seen from the private lives of officials who were unhappy to whom they were meeting in the sessions. In addition, the difficulties of virtuality in terms of security and decision-making were initially questioned. There was also controversy following the refusal of some senators to waive the representation expenses they received throughout the pandemic.

On the other hand, having been prioritized in the first phase of vaccination, it was thought that they would be the first to return to face-to-face. Therefore, the opposition sector made at the time a demand led by Gustavo Petro.

“If the percentage of senators vaccinated is high, sessions should already be fully face-to-face, there is no legal reason to hold virtual or face-to-face sessions. So, the figure of the percentage of congressmen vaccinated, which means that each senator reports to the administration whether or not they have been vaccinated, is essential to establish the legitimacy of virtual or mixed sessions,” said the current candidate for president of Pact Histórico.

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