Following the defeat suffered by the Government this Wednesday with the election of Carlos Camargo as the new Constitutional Court judge, the Casa de Nariño has reportedly asked the Ministers of Labor, Antonio Sanguino, ICT, Julián Molina, and Commerce, Diana Marcela Rojas, to resign.
President Gustavo Petro himself had warned that if María Patricia Balanta were not elected, he would restructure the alliances with the political forces in Congress. And, according to information to which EL TIEMPO had access, those three officials have already been asked to resign because the sectors they represent - Green, 'la U' and Liberal, respectively - did not support Balanta.
"The election of the new magistrate will define the entire framework of alliances in Congress. We cannot give in to those who have supported fascism," the president said on Monday, after ordering his party to support Balanta's candidacy the previous week, even though she was not of Petrista or leftist origin, as he stated.
In fact, these ministers were summoned from the Nariño House before the vote and warned that if the government candidate didn't win, they would be dismissed. This was confirmed to this newspaper by people close to the officials.
The bidding for the election of the magistrate in the Senate
The election of the new Constitutional Court judge was one of the most intense contests the Senate has experienced in recent years.
At first, Camargo seemed to have a solid candidacy and was the virtual winner. However, when President Petro ordered his party to vote for Balanta, who insisted he was neither leftist nor a supporter of Petrismo, the balance shifted, and in some accounts, she was even the winner.
Balanta was supported by sectors of the U party, including the governor of Valle del Cauca, Dilian Francisca Toro, the Liberals and Greens, as well as the entire ruling party. However, at the last minute, Camargo, supported by the opposition, managed to rally.
A close result was expected, but it ended up being a 21-vote victory. Camargo took 62 votes and Balanta 41. This means that a good portion of the votes that were committed, mainly from the Liberals and the"U" parties, ended up going to the former Ombudsman.
MATEO GARCÍA AND JUAN SEBASTIAN LOMBO
