Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has lost significant congressional support during his first year in office.
Consequently, several of the government’s reform proposals failed to get congressional approval.
When Petro took office in August last year, he did so with an overwhelming majority in both houses of the legislature.
This majority allowed the government to push through a major tax reform, the national budget and Petro’s flagship peace policy.
The president’s luck changed after a proposal to reform Colombia’s healthcare system.
Reforming this semi-private system was met with opposition from the leaders of the traditional parties that initially had joined the coalition.
The conflict between Petro and his progressives on one hand and the liberal and conservative leaders on the other spurred Petro to eject representatives of the rival forces from the cabinet.
This move subsequently complicated the approval of proposals to improve the situation of workers and potential pensioners.
To further complicate the situation, all political forces began preparing for the local elections that are set for October, which made compromises on thorny issues all but impossible.
By the end of the legislative year on Monday, all pending reforms had become bogged down in Congress.
Whether Petro will be more successful after lawmakers return from summer recess on July 20 is all but certain.
This depends partially on the government’s ability to barter support for its reforms and the impact of the local elections in the national political arena.