The Green Party, one of the few political parties that had not joined Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos’ majority coalition in Congress, has joined the “coalition of national unity,” the president announced Wednesday at the official start of the congressional year.
“I am very happy to announce that starting tomorrow a new member will join the table of national unity. With open arms we welcome the Green Party,” said Santos before a joint meeting of the two houses of Congress.
The Green Party, whose candidate Antanas Mockus “with progressive and intelligent ideas” opposed Santos in last year’s race for the 2010 – 2014 presidential term, “has shown to be a party with constructive character that prefers to propose rather than oppose,” said Santos.
Mockus recently left the Green Party out of protest with former President Alvaro Uribe’s endorsement of Enrique Peñalosa, the party’s candidate in the race for the Mayor’s Office of the capital of Bogota.
According to the president, the Green Party “from now on will help us forge a just, progressive, inclusive, honest and free country, like we all want it to be.”
Santos formed the “coalition of national unity” immediately after his victory in last year’s presidential elections. The coalition consists of all the major parties and more than 90% of the Senate and House of Representatives.
