00:00In Colombia, following the legislative elections, the challenges for the parties in Congress are
00:03becoming clearer, and the outlook for the first round of presidential elections is taking shape.
00:08Our colleague Hernando Barr with the details.
00:12The Communist Party, emerging from the 2016 peace agreements, and which held representation of 10
00:18seats in the two chambers for two consecutive terms from 2018 to 2026, as a commitment of that
00:23same agreement, disappears after the recent legislative elections, after failing to reach
00:28the necessary vote threshold to maintain its legal status.
00:31Its candidate Sandra Ramirez, who was running for the Senate, did not achieve the more than
00:35500,000 votes required.
00:37She barely surpassed 10,000.
00:39She maintains that the lack of implementation of the peace agreement in the territories took
00:43its toll on their ability to project themselves as a political structure.
00:49When we signed the agreement and left the territories, we had a very serious problem.
00:54People in the state did not have the capacity to enter with social investment and establish
00:59control in the territory.
01:01That territory was co-opted and taken over by forces such as paramilitary groups, criminal
01:07organizations, dissident groups, and drug trafficking.
01:11Today those territories are forbidden for us.
01:14That is why our bases remain there in those territories, adrift and I would say even worse, under the control
01:20of those forces, and completely depoliticized by groups that only see the economic resource,
01:26for example.
01:31These seats left by the Comun's party were picked up by the historic pact, which, according
01:36to analysts, raises a scenario similar to the previous legislative period.
01:40And while there are more votes for the left and progressive lists, there is no absolute
01:44majority, which foresees a scenario of dispute.
01:47Right-leaning parties such as Cambio Radical, the Conservative Party, and the Democratic Center
01:52will seek to strengthen their alliances, adding a little more than 60 seats, while the historic
01:57pact alone totals 60, a scenario that many see is balanced, but with significant challenges.
02:05There tends to be a balance between the left and the right, but even though it is not a
02:10large difference.
02:12There is no doubt that having obtained the largest list in the Senate, and the largest list
02:16in the House, and having increased some seats in both chambers, allows for a greater margin
02:22of maneuver within what has been mentioned.
02:25These are not absolute majorities, but rather relative ones.
02:29And the search for consensus and agreements continues to be the predominant aspect.
02:37Facing the upcoming scenario for the first round of presidential voting, the historic pact
02:41could maintain the trend of favorability with its candidate, Ivan Cepeda, who leads the polls,
02:46and whose political force is the most voted in Congress.
02:49The outlook is also becoming somewhat clearer for the right, which has to candidates competing,
02:54Abelardo de la Espriella, and Paloma Valencia.
03:02There tends to be a balance between the left and the right, but even though it is not a large
03:07difference, there is no doubt that having obtained the largest list in the Senate, and the largest
03:13list in the House, and having increased some seats in both chambers, allows for a greater margin
03:19of maneuver within what has been mentioned.
03:21These are not absolute majorities, but rather relative ones.
03:26And the search for consensus and agreements continues to be the predominant aspect.
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