Colombian president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella suffered his first legislative setback on Monday when the newly sworn-in Senate rejected his preferred candidate for the chamber's presidency, electing instead a figure from the party of former president Álvaro Uribe. In an unusual alliance, left-wing parties defeated in the June presidential runoff joined with the traditional right to block De la Espriella's ally — breaking with the Colombian convention of allowing an incoming president's allies to lead the Senate, which typically eases the passage of early government legislation. The defeat is a significant early blow for De la Espriella, a political outsider and anti-establishment lawyer who lacks his own party and must build congressional support before his inauguration on 7 August, amid an already fraught transition after outgoing president Gustavo Petro refused to accept the election result.