The defection reform is failing: the Senate denied it in its sixth debate.

The reform that would have opened the door to defection —that is, allowing parliamentarians to switch parties once per term without consequences for their seats—has just failed in its sixth debate. Fifty-five votes were in favor of shelving the bill.

The initiative, which critics said was tailored to the Historic Pact, aimed at consolidating the leftist political party ahead of the 2026 legislative elections , was shelved by the Senate in its sixth of eight debates on Tuesday, May 6.

This process has been a back-and-forth over the past few months. In January, the initiative was earmarked for archiving ahead of its fifth debate in Senate Committee I. But in March, in an unexpected turn of events, it was approved almost unanimously in that legislative body. And just as it seemed to be taking off, it gradually lost steam, and for a couple of weeks now, its archiving seemed imminent in the plenary session.

Liberal Senator Alejandro Carlos Chacón , the bill's sponsor in the Senate, defended the proposal and denied during the discussion that the bill was intended to strengthen the Historic Pact and insisted that it sought political freedom for those currently trapped within their party.

" This wasn't presented for the Historic Pact. Don't be rude to those of us who are fighting precisely so that Congress can recover its light, so that Congress can stop kneeling to the governments in power ," the Liberal parliamentarian argued.

"We want to defend free politics, so that each of you can defend what you see fit, representing your constituents. Today, they say we betray the parties for thinking, for discerning, for expressing opinions, for disagreeing with positions," he added.

However, this was not what the opponents saw and ultimately shelved the project.

“Let's implement serious political reform. The one the Senate is debating today isn't serious: the 'little article' on defection weakens the system, undermines the Council of State, normalizes party changes every four years, and favors self-reelection ,” argued Green Alliance Senator Angélica Lozano.

"The draft legislation that allows defection without losing one's seat or incurring dual membership will only benefit the Historic Pact, its allies in other parties, and the pivotal groups. It is a proposal that will harm the most established groups, political minorities, and the very exercise of democracy," said Senator Carlos Fernando Motoa of Cambio Radical.