[Gustavo Petro won Colombia’s June 19 election, becoming its
first ever left-wing president. We analyze what this means for Latin
America, the US, Venezuela, the military, paramilitary groups, the
powerful oligarchy, and social movements.]
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COLOMBIA’S FIRST EVER LEFT WING PRESIDENT  
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Benjamin Norton
June 19, 2022
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_ Gustavo Petro won Colombia’s June 19 election, becoming its first
ever left-wing president. We analyze what this means for Latin
America, the US, Venezuela, the military, paramilitary groups, the
powerful oligarchy, and social movements. _

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Gustavo Petro won Colombia’s presidential election on June 19. This
will make him the first left-wing leader in the South American
nation’s history.

In the video, podcast, and written analysis below, Multipolarista
editor Benjamin Norton discusses Petro’s historic victory, what it
means for Colombia, Latin America, and the world, and how difficult it
will be for him to govern. [for the video and podcast return to the
site}

Gustavo Petro won the first round of Colombia’s presidential
election
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on May 29. In the second round, he defeated far-right candidate
Rodolfo Hernández
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a real estate mogul with an estimated $100 million in wealth.

Petro previously served as mayor of the capital Bogotá, and long
before that a former guerrilla in the armed socialist group M-19.
After putting down his weapons, Petro moderated his politics and moved
to the center-left.

His presidential campaign brought together a broad coalition of
left-wing parties, under the name the Pacto Histórico (Historic
Pact), ranging from liberals to the Communist Party.

Petro will face many obstacles to governing. He does not have a
majority in the bicameral Congress; both the Senate and Chamber of
Representatives remain dominated by right-wing, centrist, and
neoliberal parties.

Colombia’s state security services, which are closely linked to
paramilitary groups, and which killed thousands of civilians
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in the “falsos positivos” (false positives) scandal, are also
openly antagonistic to Petro.

The chief of Colombia’s armed forces, General Eduardo Zapateiro,
publicly attacked Petro on Twitter
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violating national laws that stipulate that military officers cannot
interfere in the electoral process.

An ardent supporter of peace, Petro hopes to settle the armed conflict
that has destabilized Colombia for decades. He wants to honor the
government’s 2016 peace deal with the FARC, which has been
systematically violated by the administration of current far-right
President Iván Duque.

Hundreds of signatories of this agreement, former socialist
revolutionaries who put down their arms, have been murdered since
2016.

In an attempt to facilitate peace, Petro has called for land reform.
He recognizes that land ownership is concentrated in the hands of a
few oligarchs, with millions of campesinos toiling in brutal, inhumane
conditions, and understands how this has fueled violence.

Petro wants to ensure that peasants will have their rights guaranteed
against the multinational corporations, Colombian oligarchs, and death
squads that have long terrorized them. This, however, is much easier
said than done.

Petro likewise pledged to reverse the neoliberal economic policies
that have ravaged Colombia, pushing a staggering 40% of the population
into poverty
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In 2021, working-class Colombians rose up against the crushing
austerity measures of current President Duque. Petro supported the
anti-neoliberal protests that rocked the country for months.

Duque, for his part, was the hand-picked candidate of Colombia’s
former far-right President Álvaro Uribe, a powerful representative of
the oligarchy who is closely linked to drug cartels and paramilitary
death squads.

Petro’s victory represents the end of the right-wing Uribista
movement that has dominated Colombian politics since Uribe first rose
to power in 2002.

The Pacto Histórico’s vice-presidential candidate, Francia
Márquez, is a leftist social movement activist from the
Afro-Colombian community, which has been historically marginalized and
repressed by the Colombian state and oligarchy.

Márquez publicly criticized the US government for meddling in
Colombia’s electoral process
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She also condemned the war on drugs, which she called a failure.

Márquez wants peace, and opposes further militarization of the
country. She blasted Colombia’s free-trade agreement with the United
States, which she said should be renegotiated.

Márquez has stressed the urgent need for land reform and reparations
for Indigenous peoples and oppressed nations in Colombia.

When it comes to his foreign policy, Petro has a much more mixed
record. He harshly criticized the socialist governments of Venezuela
and Nicaragua during his presidential campaign, making baseless
accusations and comparisons that leftists across Latin America
condemned as ridiculous.

But Petro and Márquez both also called for normalizing relations with
Colombia’s neighbor Venezuela. This means that, although their
government certainly won’t be a friend of Venezuela’s Chavista
movement, it will end recognition of US-appointed coup leader Juan
Guaidó.

Colombia’s current far-right Duque government is one of fewer than
15 countries in the world that still recognize Guaidó as supposed
“president” of Venezuela, despite the fact that he has never
received a single vote in a presidential election.

Under Duque, Colombia has supported violent cross-border attacks on
Venezuela
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including a failed invasion in May 2020, known as Operation Gideon,
which was sponsored by the Donald Trump administration, and, according
to Colombians involved in the operation, overseen by the CIA.

 

* Colombia; Gustav Petro; Francia Márquez;
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