Petro experiences his first failure by losing the presidency of the Colombian parliament

Four votes made the difference for Colombian President Gustavo Petro to begin his second legislative year with a more hostile Congress. This Friday, the left suffered its first setback after the Petrist candidate Angélica Lozano, lost the position of President of the Senate to Iván Nama, from the Alianza Verde party. The new leader of the Upper House won with 54 votes compared to 50 for Lozano. The support of the opposition and the most traditional formations marked the triumph of Nama.

Although the Green Alliance is part of the coalition, Name, who has been a senator since 2010, has been a “faithful detractor” of the executive branch since Petro came to power in August 2022. Consequently, several key executive projects, such as health, pension and labor reform, remain in limbo. The lack of a majority in the Senate, the fragmentation of the Greens and Namen’s departure from Peter’s ideals caused “disappointment” in the Government.

This feeling was openly shown by the Minister of the Interior Luis Fernando Velasco, who the day before the election suggested to the Government favoring Lausanne. After the result of the vote was known, he left the room without saying a word.