Members of the Alternative Polo Democratico (PDA), one of Colombia’s most popular leftist parties, voted to become part of President Gustavo Petro’s political party ahead of the 2026 elections.
The vote allows the PDA leadership to fuse their party with Petro’s Colombia Humana (CH) party, the Union Patriotica (UP) and MAIS.
Ahead of the 2022 elections, the PDA already agreed to to form a coalition with these parties to support the president and each other’s congressional candidates.
Colombian electoral law doesn’t allow political candidates to support supposedly rival candidates, however.
Consequently, The National Electoral Council invalidated the elections of three lawmakers of the so-called “Historic Pact” coalition.
In response, Petro proposed to fuse the parties and convert the coalition into a political party called Historic Pact ahead of the national elections in 2026 and local elections in 2027.
This would allow the government coalition to continue coordinating electoral campaigns and avoid the possible suspension of its elected members.
Ultimately, a united party would allow the left to “win the 2026 elections and make Colombia’s democratic transformation and National Accord for justice and peace irreversible,” Petro said in January.
With the exception of MAIS, which is an indigenous party, the parties that so far have agreed to join the Historic Pact are democratic socialist.
Their new political party may receive support from leftist members of Colombia’s multiple liberal parties who have supported Petro’s policies despite opposition from their superiors.
Like Petro’s coalition, the Historic Pact would be able to count on broad support among labor unions, as well as community, peasant and indigenous organizations.
Their joint efforts ahead of the 2022 elections is largely credited for securing Petro’s victory.
In the Congress, however, the government coalition failed to obtain a majority and is opposed by traditional liberals, conservatives and the far-right.
