Former guerrilla Gustavo Petro wins the Colombian elections and becomes the first left-wing president


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

Petro defeated Rodolfo Hernández, a former Bucaramanga mayor and blunder-prone business tycoon, with 50.47% of the vote in a runoff election on Sunday and will take office in July amid a series of challenges. one of which is growing discontent over inequality and the rising cost of living. Hernández obtained 47.27%, with almost all the votes counted, according to the results released by the electoral authorities.

Petro’s election marks a sea change for Colombia, a country that has never before had a leftist president, and follows similar victories by the left in Peru, Chile and Honduras.

“Today is the people’s party,” tweeted the victorious candidate on Sunday night after the results were known. “May so many sufferings be cushioned in the joy that today floods the heart of the country.”

During his victory speech, Petro called for unity and extended an olive branch to some of his harshest critics, saying all members of the opposition would be welcome in the presidential palace “to discuss Colombia’s problems.”

“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 not only to those who have taken up arms but also to “that silent majority of peasants, indigenous people, women, youths”.

Outgoing Conservative President Iván Duque congratulated Petro shortly after the results were announced, and Hernández was quick to concede defeat.

“Today the majority of citizens have chosen the other candidate. As I said during the campaign, I accept the results of this election,” Hernandez said in a video posted on social media. “I sincerely hope that this decision will be beneficial to all.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated “the people of Colombia for making their voices heard in free and fair presidential elections.”

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

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador described the former guerrilla’s victory as “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 left-wing president.
Supporters of Gustavo Petro celebrate his election as Colombia’s first left-wing president. Photo: Carlos Ortega/EPA

Petro’s journey from a fighter in the M-19 guerrilla army in the 1980s to president also saw him become a senator and mayor of the capital, Bogotá. He has a reputation for meandering speeches and arbitrariness.

Petro’s vice president will be Francia Márquez, an award-winning human and environmental rights advocate, marking the first time a black woman has held the position.

“Today all women win”, tweeted Marquez when the polls closed Sunday afternoon. “We are facing the greatest possibility of change in recent times.”

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

“I am 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 expected,” said Diego León, who also voted for Petro.

“It really is a new moment for Colombia,” said Luis Eduardo Celis, who works at Fundación Paz y Reconciliación, a Colombian think tank. “A Colombia that has many pending issues to advance: agrarian reform, an economy at the service of the people, more equitable taxation, getting out of hunger, out of poverty, ending all that violence.”

A supporter of Gustavo Petro celebrates his election as president of Colombia.
A supporter of Gustavo Petro waves the national flag from his car. Photograph: Raul Arboleda/AFP/Getty Images

Hernandez appeared to be a contender, although he was unable to escape an almost constant stream of scandal. He referred to Hitler as a “great German thinker” and has been filmed parading models on a yacht in Miami. His posts on TikTok, where he did much of his campaigning, were laden with profanity and he refused to attend any debates before Sunday’s vote.

On the new leader’s agenda 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 left more than 260,000 dead and displaced. more than 7 million. Duque has been accused of delaying the implementation of the agreement in order to undermine it.

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

Petro has also pledged to rid the country of its dependence on fossil fuels, which worries investors.

The election was hotly contested, with many observers classing the race between two relative strangers as a broader rebuke to the political establishment. A large number of traditional politicians were ousted in the first round.

With Reuters and Associated Press




Reference-www.theguardian.com

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