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Monday, June 14, 2024
By Steven L. Taylor

Over the weekend, Germán Vargas Lleras, former presidential candidate and leader of Radical Change (Cambio Radical, a.k.a., CR) publically proclaimed an alliance with Juan Manuel Santos of La U.

Via El TiempoGermán Vargas Lleras y Juan Manuel Santos sellaron su alianza en una tarima en Barranquilla.

Likewise, the Conservatives have officially endorsed Santos (and indeed, did so earlier this month).

Vargas won 10.13% of the vote in the first round and Conservative candidate Noemí Sanín won 6.14% (source).  Combined with Santos, this bloc won 62.83% of the first round.  While the second round cannot be expected to directly replicate the first that summed total is not that far off the polling figures I noted yesterday.

The PC and CR are both major uribista parties in the overall panoply of Colombian parties and were part of the pro-government coalition along with La U and several smaller parties over the last four years.  They, no doubt, plan to occupy that position during the seemingly certain Santos administration.  Further, one would expect that some of the former presidential candidates from these parties will find themselves with positions in a Santos administration.

On the other side of the ledger, Mockus has not been able/willing to amass a second-round coalition.  Indeed, immediately after the first round, Mockus announced that the plan was to target those who didn’t vote in the first round rather than to try and form alliances with other parties.

The Polo Democrático Alternativo is actively encouraging voters to “voto en blanco” (basicially “none of the above”) or to abstain.  See the Polo web site:  “El Voto en Blanco al igual que la Abstención es una protesta en estas votaciones”: Clara López. 

Indeed, the president of the Polo (Clara López.) has said that Santos and Mockus “have the the same politics” (source) and therefore the party cannot support either.

The other potential coalition partner was the Liberal Party, and the official position of the party has been that it would support no one in the second round (see the PL’s website).

The views expressed in the comments are the sole responsibility of the person leaving those comments. They do not reflect the opinion of the author of PoliBlog, nor have they been vetted by the author.

One Response to “Electoral Alliances in Colombia (and the Lack Thereof)”

  • el
  • pt
    1. Fruits and Votes » Prof. Shugart's Blog » Second Round in Colombia Says:

      [...] * The second round ballot. * The profile of Juan Manuel Santos of La U that I wrote for the first round. * The profile of Antanas Mockus of the Partido Verde that I wrote for the first round. * A partial analysis of the first round’s outcome:  Mockus’ Unexpected Weakness. * Some thoughts on the electoral constellations heading into the second round:  Electoral Alliances in Colombia (and the Lack Thereof). [...]


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