Liberalism would define this Thursday which candidate it will support in the presidential elections

The former president and director of the Liberal party, César Gaviria, returned to the country after a trip to the United States and will seek to resolve in the coming days which candidate will be able to maintain the red flags. The balance is between Gustavo Petro and Federico Gutiérrez, leaders of the voting intention in the polls.

To make the decision, this Thursday around 3:00 in the afternoon all senators and elected representatives were summoned to a meeting at their home. It should be remembered that the above-mentioned candidates and Luis Pérez have also been there.

The meeting would be to define the mechanism by which to decide which presidential candidate to support, although time plays against it. The congressmen expected the decision to be made this week and announced this Friday, but internal processes need to be complied with.

In addition, according to La FM, the meeting would have been postponed at the request of Gaviria, who would be preparing a programmatic document defining the red lines to be considered in support of a candidate, which would be different from the so-called “liberal agenda” they defined in meetings with the bench at the end of March.

“This is quite divided, we are deciding what will be the mechanism for making the decision: whether it will be an internal vote by representatives and senators or if we can suddenly delegate the decision to former president César Gaviria,” Senator Lidio García, the party's top list, told Semana magazine about the discussion that will have the congressmen and the liberal director.

According to him, it is decided that a decision will be made that must be unanimously complied with by all congressmen so that there is no division with the freedom to individually support a candidate. However, there is a clear division between those who go for Gutierrez or Petro. Some sectors have even expressed support for Fajardo.

According to RCN Radio, some congressmen do consider having freedom of support. Likewise, it is possible that the balance will tilt more towards Gutiérrez, after Petro lost space between representatives. Apparently, the candidate of the Team for Colombia leads among the senators and the one for the Historical Pact has more ground in the House.

Senator Luis Fernando Velasco, who supports Petro and sought to integrate the Historic Pact consultation as a candidate, believes that an official decision by the Liberal party will no longer be possible due to statutes and times.

“Legally, the Liberal Party will not have an official candidate and politically it is clear that the liberal base and those who think liberal feel mostly identified with the proposal of Gustavo Petro. I hope that the leadership will not depart from the liberal people,” he said.

As Velasco explained, the decision could only be taken by national convention or consultation, as in 2018, but there is no time to do so anymore. In addition, if an alliance were to be defined, the candidate should have the party's endorsement, but it is not possible either because the deadline for amendments in the Registry Office has already closed.

“Of course, the bench can produce a political event by expressing support for a candidate, but this decision does not force its congressmen, directors, deputies, councillors and much less its membership, since the party would have no official candidate or alliance,” said the senator.

Gaviria has held meetings with Gutiérrez and Petro, but after the inscription of the formula of the Historical Pact, he moved away from that sector following statements by Francia Márquez about what the former president represents. However, Roy Barreras has tried to rebuild ties.

In 2018, the Liberal party had Humberto de la Calle as its candidate, and in the second round he was part of the alliance that accompanied Iván Duque to the Presidency. Their support, being the third most voted list in the Senate and the second in the House represents an impetus to those who choose to support. It is, until the count is confirmed, the majority seat in Congress.

KEEP READING: