Colombia’s presidential candidates are temperamental populists — and ready to rule by decree
When I asked Colombia’s presidential candidate Rodolfo Hernandez in an interview a few days ago whether he minds being called “Colombia’s Donald Trump,” he smiled and said he finds the comparison amusing. Then, he added, “No, I don’t mind.”
Hernandez, 77, who is tied in the polls with leftist candidate Gustavo Petro, 62, for the June 19 presidential runoff election, has several things in common — and a few political differences — with the former U.S. president.
Like Trump, Hernandez, a real estate tycoon, has a short fuse. He is a populist who promises to eradicate corruption while facing several graft investigations himself. And like Trump, Hernandez has said several really stupid things over the years.
Hernandez said in a 2016 radio interview that he “admires” Adolf Hitler, although he later apologized profusely and claimed that he meant to say “Albert Einstein.”
Hernandez has also raised eyebrows by praising Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, without dwelling on their authoritarian traits. The candidate told me that Trump and Bukele are “world-class figures who must have done something right in order to have so many supporters.”
When I noted that Trump has eroded America’s democracy by not accepting the 2020 election results, which were certified by the U.S. Supreme Court, and that Bukele, among other things, once stormed into El Salvador’s Congress with armed soldiers to intimidate legislators, Hernandez said he would do things differently. “I will comply with everything related to the democratic rule of law,” he said.
Asked about his proposal to declare a state of “internal commotion,” which — much like a similar plan by his rival, Petro — would allow him to rule by executive decrees, Hernandez rejected that it would be a path to authoritarian rule.
Hernandez said that Colombia’s constitution allows a president to declare an “internal commotion” and rule by decree, and that the Constitutional Court can always later declare a presidential decree to be unconstitutional. Asked whether he would always comply with the Constitutional Court’s rulings, he responded, “of course, immediately.”
Hernandez has centered his campaign on rooting out corruption. He vows to eliminate planes from the presidential fleet, reduce the number of government cars, turn the presidential palace into a museum and close down dozens of Colombian embassies to save money for the poor.
Asked whether it’s naive to think that such measures would help reduce poverty or eliminate corruption, Hernandez told me, “Yes, you may be right, compared with what corrupt politicians are stealing, all of this may amount to very little, but there’s nothing as effective as to lead by example.”
Unlike Trump, Hernandez is running for office without a major political party behind him. He has campaigned almost entirely from his home, using TikTok and other social-media outlets to communicate with his followers.
Politically, Hernandez’s positions are often at odds with right-wing politics. He is pro-abortion, supports gay marriage and wants to legalize all drugs, including cocaine, he told me.
He also vows to reestablish diplomatic relations with Venezuela, much like Petro and tries not to criticize Venezuela’s dictatorship. His foreign policy seems based on non-intervention, much like that proclaimed by the populist-leftist governments of Mexico or Argentina — though not followed in practice.
To be fair, Hernandez’s rival, Petro is just as populist and potentially authoritarian, if not more. Much like Hernandez, Petro has vowed to declare a “state of economic emergency” that would allow him to rule by decree.
Petro also promises to give massive government subsidies to senior citizens, widows and almost everybody who is unemployed. That would require printing more money and could bring higher inflation and more poverty. It could also make many more people dependent on government handouts.
Whoever wins, Colombia’s status as one of Latin America’s most stable democracies will be tested.
Both Petro and Hernandez are temperamental populists who promise to seek extraordinary powers to rule by decree. And neither candidate will have a majority in Congress. The only thing that’s almost certain in Colombia is that the country is heading toward uncertain times.