The promoting committee for the National Constituent Assembly project has withdrawn its initiative to support a different political proposal [1].
This shift represents a significant pivot in the strategy of allies associated with the Petro administration. By abandoning the push for a new constituent assembly, the group is moving away from a structural constitutional overhaul in favor of a broader political consensus.
Labor Minister Antonio Sanguino, representing the government, announced the decision Thursday [1]. He said that the committee members reached a consensus that continuing with the original project was no longer the most effective path forward.
"We have agreed that it was necessary to call for an initiative like the constituent assembly and we have agreed that it is not convenient for this initiative to continue," Sanguino said [1].
Instead of the constituent assembly, the committee has joined the "great national agreement," a proposal driven by the campaign of Iván Cepeda and Aida Quilcué [1]. The move suggests a preference for a negotiated political pact over the more formal and potentially disruptive process of drafting a new constitution.
This decision occurs amid conflicting reports regarding the committee's objectives. While some reports suggest the existence of a promoting committee seeking a referendum to block President Gustavo Petro's own constituent goals, the current announcement confirms that this specific group has desisted from its project to align with the Cepeda and Quilcué initiative [1].
“The promoting committee for the National Constituent Assembly project has withdrawn its initiative.”
The abandonment of the constituent assembly project in favor of a 'great national agreement' signals a tactical retreat from formal constitutional reform toward a more flexible, coalition-based political strategy. This may reduce immediate legal friction regarding the legitimacy of a new assembly but shifts the focus to the specific terms of the agreement proposed by Cepeda and Quilcué.
