Polls put him in a position to defeat leftist Gustavo Petro in the June 19 runoff.
“I am going to give you the key to get out of poverty: it is to kick out these thieving politicians who are the ones who keep us mired in poverty,” he said at a recent campaign event in which he proposed governing with austerity, ending luxuries and perks to ministers and congressmen.
Despite his promises to attack corruption, Rodolfo Hernández – who was mayor of the city of Bucaramanga between 2016 and 2019 – faces accusations and an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office for allegedly intervening from his position in the award of a contract for the treatment of alternative technology in waste management.
Although the contract was not signed, according to witnesses, it sought to benefit a company and Luis Carlos Hernández, one of the candidate’s sons, who would have lobbied in favor of the company and would receive a millionaire commission.
Hernández, whom some analysts describe as “populist”, denies the accusations and maintains that they only seek to tarnish his image and prevent his arrival at the presidency.
“Colombia needs a president who is capable of confronting this mafia that is ruling us, which is a batch, for the most part, of thieves. My goal, winning the presidency, is to do a general cleanup of those who are stealing from Colombia,” he said in another campaign act.
Hernández resigned from the mayor’s office in Bucaramanga, the capital of Santander department, after the Attorney General’s Office suspended him from office for the second time, accusing him of participating in politics, an activity prohibited by Colombian law for those holding public office.
The first suspension from office occurred at the end of 2018 when the then-mayor hit a councilman, in an episode that went viral on social networks.
Rock star
His prestige on social networks increased during the current presidential campaign with eccentric videos of him riding an electric skateboard, exercising and speaking spontaneously using words like ‘bums, drones, scoundrels’, to refer to traditional politicians.
Rodolfo Hernández, who finances his campaign with his own resources, intimately knows the suffering of the internal armed conflict of almost six decades that left more than 260,000 dead in Colombia.
His father, a farmer, was kidnapped for more than four months by the former guerrilla of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
The businessman, father of four children, lost Juliana, kidnapped in 2004 by guerrillas from the National Liberation Army (ELN).
Currently she is still missing and the politician, who from the beginning announced that he would not pay a ransom to prevent the kidnapping of other members of the family, believes that she was murdered in captivity.
His government plan includes continuing the implementation of the peace agreement with the former FARC guerrilla signed in 2016, and exploring a dialogue with the ELN to abandon the armed struggle.
Hernández, who also promises to strengthen justice, urban security and generate employment, was the target of criticism during his mayoralty for declaring himself a follower of Adolf Hitler, whom he described as “a great thinker German”, although in the current campaign he assured that it was a lapse.
As mayor, he also referred to the Bucaramanga firefighters as a bunch of “fat potbellies.”
He was born in the municipality of Piedecuesta, in the department of Santander, and founded a construction company with several partners after graduating as a civil engineer from the National University.
Later, he bought the entire company with his family and specialized in the construction of low-income housing for low-income families in Santander, a business that he later expanded to Barranquilla and Bogotá.
The businessman says that he accumulated a fortune of 100 million dollars without contracting with the State and promises to donate his salary as president to finance social programs.
His favorite food is Neapolitan Milanese, he usually listens to Andrea Bocelli and Pavarotti, watches spy movies and reads everything, according to his relatives, for whom the main qualities of a politician are punctuality and authenticity.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
