Always governed by right-wing conservatives or liberals and fed up with a country in crisis, Colombians were debating this Sunday to lean to the left for the first time and get on the train of that trend that crosses again Latin America.
Petro, who is seeking the presidency of Colombia for the third time, lost four years ago to the right-wing Ivan Dukewho by law cannot aspire to re-election.
That second place in 2018 earned him a seat in Congress from where he accumulated support to fight for revenge for the government of the country of 50 million inhabitants, an ally of the United States and world’s largest exporter of cocaine.
Colombia could thus join the left that gravitates in most South American countries and that in October the possible return of Lula da Silva in Brazil.
Paradoxically, in Colombia all the forces are asking for a change, after the unpopular government of Duque (67%) that unleashed an unprecedented social outburst.
“There’s a lot of frustration, a lot of anger and I think Petro capitalized on that,” Michael Shifter, a professor at Georgetown University, told AFP.
The right in power arrives weakened. His natural leader, the former president Alvaro Uribe (2002-2010), former electoral protagonist, is in the doldrums due to legal entanglements.
“Two feelings summarize the voter: the need for change due to that discontent and the mistrust“, says Jorge Restrepo, professor at the Javeriana University. The range of candidates is completed by the centrist Sergio Fajardo (5.1%), the evangelical John Milton Rodriguez (0.6%) and the rightist Enrique Gomez (0.3%).
Abstention was once again below 50%: it closed at a meager 41%.
The candidate of the leftist Historical Pact, a 62-year-old economist who was mayor of Bogotá and belonged to the former M-19 guerrilla, promises to reduce economic dependence on oil and coal, reduce the social gap with ideas that generate fear among businessmen. , such as the equitable distribution of land to increase agricultural production.
Hernández, a septuagenarian construction businessman and former mayor of Bucaramanga, surprised and came second in the election, beating the center-right Federico Gutiérrez, who appeared behind Petro in the voting intention polls.
The businessman, who is running as an independent candidate, gained recognition for his eccentric videos on social networks, in which he appears singing and riding an electric skateboard, as well as for his strong speech against corruption.
However, he faces an investigation for allegedly having intervened as mayor in the award of a garbage management contract that sought to benefit a company and one of his sons, who would have lobbied in favor of the company. The 77-year-old businessman denies the accusations.
Source: Ambito
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