Colombians elect leftist as new president
Colombians wrote a new chapter in their country’s politics on June 19.
Braving torrential rain, residents of the Colombian capital of Bogota poured out onto the streets and piled into the large Movistar Arena to celebrate the historic victory of leftwing candidate Gustavo Petro in the nation’s presidential election.
The country’s red, blue and yellow flag was visible everywhere, even in a sea of umbrellas and ponchos, which kept the rain at bay but could not hide the jubilant spirits.
Chants of “si se puede” (“yes, it’s possible”) resonated from the indoor sporting arena and throughout the city.
Petro made history by become the first left-leaning candidate to win the presidency for his coalition “Pacto Historico” (Historic Pact). He won the election by more than 700,000 votes in a second round of voting on June 19, earning 50.44 percent of the vote.
A former mayor of Bogota, Petro earned 11.2 million votes, the most ever gathered by a single presidential candidate in the country, but still a narrow victory. Roughly 21.6 million people out of the eligible 39 million cast votes in the presidential runoff.
“Without a doubt, what happened here today with these 11 million men and women that voted and brought us to this stage and to the government of Colombia is a change,” Petro in his victory speech at the Movistar Arena.
“This is not a change for revenge. It is not a change to build more hatreds. It is not a change to deepen the partisanship of Colombian society. The change means leaving hatred behind us,” he said.
Petro’s win came as discontent grows in the country over inequality, inflation and violence that seems to be intractable.
“Finally, thank God. I know he will be a good president and he will help those of us who are less privileged. This is going to change for the better,”
an unemployed Petro supporter told Reuters while out celebrating.
Another Colombian, Belsie Dasa, was cautiously optimistic that Petro’s victory could lead to more peace. “All the right-wing presidents don’t do what they promise and violence keeps happening. Maybe Petro will finally get it done,” she told China Daily.
It was the third time Petro, a 62-year-old economist and former guerrilla fighter, ran for president. Currently a senator, he was the mayor
of Bogota from 2012 to 2015.
Petro’s victory is not without controversy. Despite the number of votes he earned, the election was hard fought. His past as a member of the defunct M-19 guerilla movement may have been part of his appeal, but it also brings detractors.
Ana Maria Abello, a lawyer, political analyst and right-leaning social media influencer, said she does want that“the same future awaits Colombia as Venezuela, which has been mired in economic difficulties with sanctions imposed by some Western countries. “I am speechless,” she said.
There are also concerns that Petro will reverse the country’s traditional pro-business approach. Left-leaning parties have long been kept out of power in Colombia because they were seen as being associated with armed conflict that has racked the country for decades.
Vowing deep social and economic change, Petro has called for making university education free in the country and proposed a ban on new oil projects, among other planned initiatives.
Erick Behar, a Colombian economics professor at the Berlin International University of Applied Sciences, told China Daily that Petro’s victory follows a trend of populist victories in Latin America and some consider it as an opportunity for deep reform, perhaps in the sense of the failed agrarian reform of the 1930s.
He said that there are concerns with entrepreneurs and investors, as taxation may increase and production of oil, which represents the lion share of Colombia’s revenue, may be affected.
Petro defeated independent candidate Rodolfo Hernandez, who secured 47.3 percent of the vote.
Petro’s running mate was Francia Marquez, a single mother and former housekeeper. She will now become Colombia’s first black vice-president.