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The Liberal Party today does not have a strong candidate for the presidential elections.
All sectors are getting ready for what will be the contest of the year 2022, seeking the same objective: to reach the House of Nariño. One of the strongest and historically representative collectives is the Liberal Party, which always plays a fundamental role in the country’s elections.
However, this year the picture seems to be different and the community does not have a strong candidate to represent it. Who might take those flags?
After the break between César Gaviria and Alejandro Gaviria, the possibility that liberalism had a strong candidate for the first round is no longer the same. The academic decided to go to the conclave of the Centro Esperanza Coalition, of which he is now a part, and ultimately it was a pulse that ended up winning the center-left to the former president.
With the separation of the Gaviria in the community, several leaders were very hurt by that decision. The liberal youths withdrew their support and practically reluctantly handed over the signatures they had collected months ago. Even so, and despite the distancing, many continue with Gaviria in his aspiration.
One of them is Senator Iván Agudelo, who says he speaks on his own behalf. He assures that he continues to accompany the former rector of the Universidad de los Andes. Agudelo was one of those who most promoted that candidacy from the beginning.
“I accompany you. I cannot speak for any partner, I speak for myself. I still believe that it is the best option, “said the congressman. With Agudelo there would be a small group of liberals that still maintains their support for Gaviria.
The problem with liberalism is that it had all the cards played with the former rector of the Universidad de los Andes. Now, there is no strong candidate to pick up those flags, a few months before the elections.
Another option that arose was that of Luis Fernando Velasco, who for a long time has been insisting that he wants to represent liberalism to seek to reach the Presidency.
The problem is that Velasco has profound differences with former President Gaviria, whom he has criticized on several occasions. The senator has already decided to go to the Historical Pact of Gustavo Petro, with whom the majority of liberals do not fully agree. Still, the senator has some backers from the party who are also in the left-wing alliance. Others would already be with Rodolfo Hernández, who is growing more and more in the polls.
The truth is that the vast majority are still waiting for what the community may decide.
Another option that jumps out is the former Atlantic Governor Eduardo Verano de la Rosa, who has said he wants to represent the Liberal Party. However, as he well acknowledges, that process is quiet for now.
“They don’t measure us, they don’t take us into account in the debates, they don’t take our opinion into account for different issues, it’s as if we don’t exist. They make us invisible, which is not fair, “he said. The former governor perceives that the former president is waiting for the March consultation to move his chips.
With the panorama divided and without the aspiration of a strong chip, Liberalism would be willing to go without a candidate at least for the first round, and it sees it internally.
The underlying problem is that several of them do not follow the decisions that former president Gaviria has made in the leadership of the party, despite the fact that they have been from that Gavirista wing for years. In a low voice, they consider that it is time for a change in the leadership of the community.
To this is added that several liberal politicians have preferred to step aside. Among them Miguel Samper Strouss (son of former President Samper), Horacio José Serpa (son of Horacio Serpa) or Andrés Cristo (brother of Juan Fernando Cristo), all arguing that the party has become blurred.
Another point that some leaders put on the table is that a national convention or caucus meeting has not been convened for several months. in which the future of the party and the decisions can be defined, facing the presidential elections. They consider that there is no organization to make decisions in democracy and as a community.
Liberalism always bets big on congressional elections and this time it will be no exception. Generally, it is one of the most voted collectives and this year should not be different.
“How can it be that a party as large as the Liberal Party does not have a presidential candidate or go to a consultation and let loose a militancy that is the largest in Colombia, that does not make sense, it is a disaster,” said a leader of the community that preferred to reserve its identity.
And it is that in the case of the presidential elections, the Liberal Party does not have a strong candidate, and at this point it is most likely that it does not have one. Ultimately, liberalism might end up adding its broad wealth to a candidate with whom it feels affinity, in addition to the support that is already played with Velasco or Alejandro Gaviria.
Everything indicates that liberalism would bet to stay on the sidelines of the conversation at least until the March consultations and, then, watch how the outlook for the first round turns. In 2018 something similar happened: liberalism, in the absence of a strong candidate, decided to gamble with President Iván Duque, although soon there were differences that remain to this day.
The underlying problem is that the times to choose a candidate to represent them are more than tight and the most democratic thing would be to call a national convention in which such decisions can be made.
Internally, they say that they will not allow former President Gaviria to choose a candidate that the entire community represents. What many hope will happen is that each leader and candidate for Congress focuses on their campaign, and when the time comes to decide they will already be played with a candidate.
Ultimately, liberalism for these elections might also be making the decision to release its militants, as other collectives have already done.
Another option that is obvious is that they can enter to play in the Team for Colombia and configure a strong center-right bloc, but even so, they would still lack that candidate who can represent them and so far that possibility has not been discussed with the coalition.