[Former fighter in the M-19 militia beat populist business tycoon
and fellow political outsider Rodolfo Hernández in runoff on Sunday]
[[link removed]]

FORMER GUERRILLA GUSTAVO PETRO WINS COLOMBIAN ELECTION TO BECOME
FIRST LEFTIST PRESIDENT  
[[link removed]]


 

Joe Parkin Daniels, Edinson Bolaños
June 19, 2022
The Guardian
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ Former fighter in the M-19 militia beat populist business tycoon
and fellow political outsider Rodolfo Hernández in runoff on Sunday _


Gustavo Petro celebrates winning Colombia’s presidential election
with his running mate Francia Márquez (right) and wife Veronica
Alcocer (centre)., Luisa González/Reuters

 

Colombia has elected a former guerrilla fighter Gustavo Petro as
president, making him the South American country’s first leftist
head of state.

Petro beat Rodolfo Hernández, a gaff-prone former mayor of
Bucaramanga and business mogul, with 50.47% of the vote in a runoff
election on Sunday and will take office in July amid a host of
challenges, not least of which is the deepening discontent over
inequality and rising costs of living. Hernández had 47.27%, with
almost all ballots counted, according to results released by election
authorities.

Petro’s election marks a tidal shift for Colombia
[[link removed]],
a country that has never before had a leftist president, and follows
similar victories for the left in Peru, Chile and Honduras.

“Today is a party for the people,” tweeted the victorious
candidate on Sunday night after results came in. “May so many
sufferings be cushioned in the joy that today floods the heart of the
homeland.”

During his victory speech, Petro issued a call for unity and extended
an olive branch to some of his harshest critics, saying all members of
the opposition will be welcomed at the presidential palace “to
discuss the problems of Colombia”.

“From this government that is beginning there will never be
political persecution or legal persecution, there will only be respect
and dialogue,” he said, adding that he will listen to not only those
who have raised arms but also to “that silent majority of peasants,
Indigenous people, women, youth”.

The outgoing conservative president, Iván Duque, congratulated Petro
shortly after results were announced, and Hernández quickly conceded
defeat.

“Today the majority of citizens have chosen the other candidate. As
I said during the campaign, I accept the results of this election,”
Hernández said in a video posted on social media. “I sincerely hope
that this decision is beneficial for everyone.”

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, congratulated “the people
of Colombia for making their voices heard in a free and fair
presidential election”.

“We look forward to working with President-elect Petro to further
strengthen the US-Colombia relationship and move our nations toward a
better future,” he said in a statement.

The Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, called the
former guerrilla’s win “historic”. “The conservatives of
Colombia have always been tenacious and tough,” López Obrador
tweeted.

Supporters of Gustavo Petro celebrate his election as Colombia’s
first leftist president. Photograph: Carlos Ortega/EPA

Petro’s journey from a fighter in the M-19 guerrilla army in the 80s
to president also saw him become a senator and the mayor of the
capital, Bogotá. He has a reputation for meandering speeches and
high-handedness.

Petro’s vice-president will be Francia Márquez – a prize-winning
defender of human and environmental rights – marking the first time
that a black woman fills the post
[[link removed]].

“Today all women win,” tweeted
[[link removed]] Márquez
as polls closed on Sunday afternoon. “We are facing the greatest
possibility of change in recent times.”

“History has been broken because since we became a republic and got
independence 200 years ago, nothing like this had happened,” said
Andres Felipe Barrero, a Petro supporter.

“I’m very happy with the election of the new president. It
completely marks the change we are expecting, although it is a bit
partial, it is the change we were expecting,” said Diego León, who
also voted for Petro.

“It really is a new moment for Colombia,” said Luis Eduardo Celis,
who works at the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation, a Colombian
thinktank. “A Colombia that has many pending issues to advance: an
agrarian reform, an economy at the service of the people, a more
equitable taxation, to get out of hunger, out of poverty, to put an
end to all that violence.”

Hernández looked to be a contender, though could not escape an
almost constant stream of scandal
[[link removed]].
He referred to Hitler as a “great German thinker” and has been
filmed galavanting with models on a yacht in Miami. His posts on
TikTok – from where he ran much of his campaign – were laden with
profanity and he refused to attend any debates ahead of Sunday’s
vote.

On the agenda for the new leader will be the country’s faltering
peace process with the leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (Farc), which was signed in 2016 and formally ended
five decades of civil war that killed more than 260,000 people and
displaced more than 7 million. Duque has been accused of slow-walking
the accord’s implementation in order to undermine it.

Another headache for Petro will be neighbouring Venezuela, which has
been mired in social, political and economic crisis for years. Petro
has advocated for a reopening of ties with Venezuelan strongman
Nicolás Maduro, bucking the Duque government’s policy of isolation.

Petro has also pledged to wean the country off its dependence on
fossil fuels, worrying investors.

The election was hotly contested, with many observers categorising the
race between two relative outsiders as a wider rebuke against the
political class. A host of traditional politicians were ousted in the
first round.

_With Reuters and Associated Press_

_JOE PARKIN DANIELS is a British journalist based in Bogotá,
Colombia, where he covers human rights, the country's internal
conflict, and health. He tweets at @joeparkdan_

_Lend THE GUARDIAN a hand in 2022.
We are proud to say we’re a reader-funded global news organisation,
with more than 1.5 million supporters in 180 countries. This vital
support keeps us fiercely independent, free from shareholders or a
billionaire owner. It means we can keep our quality reporting open for
everyone to read. We do this because we believe in information
equality, and we know not everyone is in a position to pay for news.
But if you are, we need you. You can make an investment in Guardian
journalism today, so millions more can benefit from reliable
information on the events shaping our world. Support the Guardian from
as little as $1. Thank you._

* Columbia
[[link removed]]
* Elections
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]

Manage subscription
[[link removed]]

Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]