BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) 鈥� The party of Colombian President secured a victory in but will have to build coalitions with other parties to carry out announced reforms, including a controversial push to rewrite the nation鈥檚 constitution.
Petro’s Historical Pact party won almost a quarter of all seats in the Senate on Sunday, more than any other party.
But its staunchest opponents also made gains, with the Democratic Center party 鈥� the conservative party led by former 鈥� securing 17 seats in the 103-member Senate.
In the House of Representatives, the Democratic Center received the most overall votes, with the Historical Pact coming in fifth place. But votes in the House don’t always correlate with the number of seats each party gets. After a formula is applied to assign seats to different regions, Petro’s party could have a higher representation in the House.
Traditional parties including the Liberals and Conservatives lost ground in the Senate, while the Green Party also saw a smaller showing.
鈥淭he country seems to be turning away from voices in the center, and it’s becoming more polarized,鈥� said Carlos Arias, a political consultant based in Bogota.
Jorge Restrepo, an economist at Bogota鈥檚 Javeriana University, said the election results showed that Colombia, a nation governed for decades by technocratic administrations on the center and the right, is no longer 鈥渋mmune to populism.鈥�
鈥淭he Petro administration has taken a series of measures that are popular in the short term鈥� but not sustainable in the long term, Restrepo said.
He pointed to a massive increase in the nation鈥檚 minimum wage, decreasing gasoline prices and reforms to the that have increased overtime payments.
鈥淭hese decisions have helped to increase the popularity of the Historical Pact,鈥� Restrepo said. 鈥淎nd make its critics more unpopular.鈥�
The congressional election came just two months before Colombia holds a presidential election that will be crucial for the nation鈥檚 security policies and for the continuation of economic reforms led by the current government.
During its four years in power the Petro administration has pushed for while changing labor laws that recently included a 23% increase to the nation鈥檚 minimum wage 鈥� despite a 5% inflation rate last year.
Petro has said he would like to nationalize Colombia鈥檚 health care system, so that private insurance companies no longer handle social security payments. He has also pushed for changes to the pension system that would enable the government to administer a greater portion of pension payments.
Petro opponents have threatened to roll back some of these reforms, which they argue lead to wasteful government spending.
They have also signaled a more confrontational approach toward rebel groups that have increasingly threatened civilians with , as they fight over territory and finance themselves with cocaine exports.
On Sunday, a coalition of parties on the center and the right held a presidential primary in which they elected Paloma Valencia, a senator for the Democratic Center, as their presidential candidate.
The coalition picked up 5.7 million votes, which turned Valencia into a serious contender in the upcoming elections, said Sergio Guzm谩n, a political risk analyst in Bogota.
Petro is barred from running in the election by Colombia鈥檚 constitution. But his party鈥檚 candidate, Sen. Iv谩n Cepeda is ahead in polls, followed by Abelardo de la Espriella, an ultra conservative lawyer who has described himself as an admirer of .
Sunday鈥檚 showing by Valencia suggests that she could now compete with De la Espriella for Colombia鈥檚 conservative vote.
鈥淎belardo鈥檚 candidacy seems shaky now,鈥� Guzm谩n said, adding that the lawyer鈥檚 congressional list gained around 600,000 votes on Sunday, just a tenth of the votes cast for the primary won by Valencia.
There will be at least half a dozen candidates competing in May鈥檚 presidential election, including two members of smaller left-wing parties.
If none of the candidates gets 50% of the votes a run off will take place in June between the top two contenders.
Yan Basset, a political science professor at Bogota鈥檚 Rosario University, said that a victory by a conservative candidate would kill existing efforts by the Petro administration to rewrite Colombia鈥檚 constitution.
Petro has argued that a constitutional reset is required to empower voters and advance economic reforms previously blocked by the nation’s judges. But critics describe the effort as a power grab intended to diminish judicial oversight over the nation’s executive branch.
Basset said that if Cepeda, the Historical Pact candidate, wins the election, his government would struggle to change the constitution, due to the new makeup of Colombia鈥檚 Congress.
鈥淭he left won, but they only had a quarter of the seats,鈥� Basset said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that there is the appetite among their potential coalition partners鈥� to change the constitution.
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