[ The Colombian right has done everything in its power to
undermine Gustavo Petro. That hasn’t stopped the nation’s first
leftist president from achieving ambitious reforms for Colombia’s
poor and working class.]
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AGAINST THE ODDS, GUSTAVO PETRO HAS IMPLEMENTED AMBITIOUS LEFT
POLICIES IN HIS FIRST YEAR  
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Carlos Cruz Mosquera
September 16, 2023
Jacobin
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_ The Colombian right has done everything in its power to undermine
Gustavo Petro. That hasn’t stopped the nation’s first leftist
president from achieving ambitious reforms for Colombia’s poor and
working class. _

Columbian President Gustavo Petro, PHOTO: Milton Díaz - EL TIEMPO

 

Just over a year ago, no one would have thought Colombia could provide
an example of a leftist governing model. The nation has long been the
bastion of what supporters see as liberal-democratic rule in South
America — falling to neither left-wing revolution nor the bloody
right-wing dictatorships experienced by its neighbors. Colombia’s
close relations with powerful Western nations have been equally
stable, with the latter praising the country as a healthy example of
democracy in the region.

President Gustavo Petro, a left-wing former guerrilla fighter, and his
mélange of an alliance, known as the Pacto Histórico,_ _ascended to
power in August last year, closing the curtain on this tradition. The
new political movement comprises a broad spectrum of politicians and
parties — many sharing the values of previous governments, which
makes the long-term viability of the coalition difficult to predict.
Tempting as it may be to be pessimistic about a reformist project
trying to resolve the country’s deep-rooted problems and historical
conflicts, the evidence has thus far mostly proven critics — of all
political persuasions — wrong.

Not only has the Petro administration made progress on the most
pressing national issues, including tackling high poverty levels
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addressing the long-standing violent conflict with the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and other armed groups, and limiting
the narcotics trade — it’s also begun to take on capitalism’s
environmental crises on the international stage.

It has not all been smooth sailing, however. The coalition is rife
with internal conflict and power struggles, a hostile opposition has
successfully limited progressive bills in Congress (where the
coalition lacks a majority), and, more generally, the incessant
machinery of a disquieted ruling class constantly undermines the
coalition’s policy goals, particularly through lawfare and corporate
media smears. Unsurprisingly, despite evidence of Petro’s impressive
performance in his first year in office given these challenges, most
of the country’s opinion polls show his approval ratings down from
56 percent when he was appointed to just 33 percent
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However, a recent Strategic Center Latin American of
Geopolitics report
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that around 90 percent of those who voted for the coalition continue
to approve its mandate.

Colombia’s social democratic project under President Petro and the
Pacto Histórico_ _provides those of us interested in left-wing
governance some important lessons. In just a year, the new
administration has implemented impressive policies that depart from
the rapacious neoliberalism of the past. Moreover, in contrast to some
other regional examples, Colombia’s left remains committed to
implementing its radical reforms, edging out the stalling centrists in
its midst. But whether it has the wherewithal to withstand the
powerful offensive waged upon it and its vision for a new country
remains to be seen.

The Economy

While Colombia’s leading media outlets forecasted a serious
destabilization of the economy with the Pacto Histórico at the helm,
that never came to pass. In general, despite widespread inflation in
the first few months linked to the war in Ukraine and the pandemic,
rates have now seen a steady decrease for three consecutive months,
with economists forecasting a continuation of the trend. Importantly,
in contrast to the austerity policies of neoliberal governments,
Colombia’s reduction in inflation has been accompanied by a
government-led policy to increase people’s wages — particularly
benefiting some of the poorest workers, who today enjoy higher
salaries and lower living costs
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Moreover, these positive indicators have been bolstered by
a reduction in unemployment
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Although Colombia now has a pro-labor government, the country’s
economy more generally continues to be defined by capitalist
parasitism and extractivism — underpinned by the traditional
asymmetric linkages with powerful nations to the north. If the new
administration is to move the country toward a more stable economy
based on socialist principles and sovereignty, it must continue to
limit the power of the country’s bourgeoisie and dare to begin
overturning long-standing uneven trade and export relations with the
United States, the European Union, and other powers.

Social Policies

Notwithstanding the sustained monopoly the country’s ruling class
wields over the state apparatus, President Petro and the coalition
government have made significant strides in implementing some of their
ambitious social policies. Noteworthy among them is the Citizens’
Rent program, consisting of a monthly half–minimum salary to the
country’s most vulnerable families, targeting women heads of
household especially, that currently benefits around two million
people.

This is part of a broader policy program to address the country’s
rampant social inequality, for which the Ministry of Equality, headed
by Vice President Francia Márquez, was created. However, other vital
policies — namely, the urgently needed reform of the collapsing
public health care system — have been blocked in Congress by the
opposition.

Security and Peace

Recognizing one of the fundamental causes of the decades-long violent
conflict, President Petro’s government has begun to address land
rights and distribution more earnestly. Tens of thousands of rural
families have been awarded land titles — more in one year than the
previous government processed in its full term.

The 2016 peace agreement between FARC guerrillas and the state was a
historic achievement, though the implementation has been largely
disappointing. The electoral victory of the far right in 2018 resulted
in its near abandonment and the resumption of full-blown military
intervention against dissidents, both armed and unarmed.

The Pacto Histórico’s has, in contrast, taken a reconciliatory and
dialogue-based approach to the guerrillas, starting with the “Total
Peace” bill that not only reinforces the implementation of the prior
agreement but advances new projects. Concretely, the bill gives the
government extraordinary powers to start talks with remaining armed
dissidents, such as the National Liberation Army (ELN), with whom they
have agreed to a cease-fire while advancing toward a peace accord.

The Environment

On the international stage, Colombia’s government has quickly become
one of the leading proponents of substituting the external debt of
impoverished countries in the Global South for action to protect the
natural environment. President Petro and his team have used their
official international visits to lobby for a “Marshall Plan” for
the environment, which they are preparing to submit as a proposal at
COP28. Importantly, together with this proposal to substitute debt for
climate action, Petro has called for an urgent global devaluation of
the fossil fuel industry. This position was recently backed at the
Amazon summit convened by Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da
Silva, where Colombia was the only country to vote to limit new
concessions to the industry.

At the national level, the implementation of environmental protection
policies has been swifter, even as it has faced uphill battles in
Congress. One of the first policies announced by the coalition was the
allocation of $200 million yearly toward the regeneration and
protection of the Amazon rainforest – 10 percent of which lies
within the country’s boundaries. The program, which will receive
additional international funds, focuses on empowering local indigenous
and rural communities to help in efforts to prevent deforestation and
other forms of destruction. For comparison, the previous government
had no specific policies or funding allocations to address this issue.

A New Era for Colombia?

Around the world, only an urgent and radical transformation of the way
we organize ourselves politically and economically can truly address
the challenges before us. The core countries of the capitalist system,
with the most advanced technology and the most prestigious scholarly
centers, have mostly failed to provide inspiration or answers.

Today, Colombia — a peripheral nation once known as
neoliberalism’s most enthusiastic collaborator in Latin America
— offers an example of how we can challenge that order, even in
bastions of conservative politics. Ultimately, the Colombian
project’s longevity will depend on its leaders’ ability to
outmaneuver the country’s elites and transform relations with the
world’s imperialist powers — and on an internationalist movement
to support and defend it.

_Carlos Cruz Mosquera is a PhD candidate and teaching associate at
Queen Mary University of London._

* Columbia
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* Gustavo Petro
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* progressive change
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