Colombia’s Liberal Party Backs Gutierrez in Boost for Candidacy
Colombia’s Liberal Party Backs Gutierrez in Boost for Candidacy
(Bloomberg) -- Federico “Fico” Gutierrez received the backing of one of Colombia’s most powerful political parties, boosting his chances in the tight presidential race.
Both Gutierrez, a conservative former mayor of Medellin, and leftist senator Gustavo Petro had been vying for the support of Liberal Party chief and former President Cesar Gaviria.
Petro and Gutierrez are the leading contenders in next month’s elections, polls show. In a Tweet Wednesday, the party said it chose Gutierrez.
The Liberal Party machine is effective at mobilizing votes in Colombia’s different regions, and its backing will be key to help pass reforms through congress, according to Mario Gomez, managing partner for Colombia at risk consulting firm Prospectiva.
However, with the party’s members divided between support for the two candidates, it won’t be easy for Gaviria to have them vote along party lines, he said. In the last elections four years ago, the party was part of a coalition that backed President Ivan Duque.
Typically, in return for their support, parties have a say in who is named to head different ministries.
‘Unfortunate’ Decision
“The challenge now is for Gaviria to really bring party members together,” said Gomez.
In a video posted on Twitter, Petro slammed Gaviria’s “unfortunate” decision, while calling on the party’s base to join him. Back in March, Gaviria had already hinted at his reservations about backing the leftist candidate after he was criticized by Petro’s running mate Francia Marquez.
Preliminary results of the March congressional elections show the Liberal Party has 15 of the 102 seats in the Senate and 32 in the Lower House, making it one of the nation’s most influential parties. And in terms of the total number of votes per party, it got more than 14% in the Lower House and almost 13% in the Senate.
The March results show the Liberal Party “has the number of votes to tip the balance to one side or the other,” said Gomez.
The first round of voting is on May 29, with a likely runoff three weeks later.
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