Leftist candidate banks on young voters to fuel win

FUSAGASUGA, Colombia — The man onstage surrounded by a screaming, sweating, fawning crowd seemed like an odd choice for a youth icon. Gustavo Petro is gray-haired, 62, and, in his speeches, he’s more roaring preacher than conversational TikTok star.

But after an improbable rise from clandestine rebel to Bogota mayor and bullish face of the Colombian opposition, Petro could soon become the country’s first leftist president, a watershed moment for one of the most politically conservative societies in Latin America.

And his ascent has, in no small part, been propelled by the biggest, loudest and possibly angriest youth electorate in Colombia’s history.

There are now nearly 9 million Colombian voters 28 or younger, the most in history, and a quarter of the electorate. They are restive, raised on promises of higher education and good jobs, disillusioned by current prospects, more digitally connected and arguably more empowered than any previous generation.

“Petro is change,” said Camila Riveros, 30, wrapped in a Colombian flag at a campaign event this month outside Bogota, the capital. “People are tired of eating dirt.”

As Colombians prepare to vote on Sunday, Petro has promised to overhaul the country’s capitalist economic model and vastly expand social programs, in part by raising taxes on the rich.

Petro has been ahead in the polls for months — though surveys suggest he will face a

Supporters of presidential candidate Gustavo Petro attend a May 14 rally in Cartagena. Petro has promised to overhaul Colombia’s capitalist economic model. Voters will cast ballots Sunday.

runoff in June — and his popularity reflects both leftist gains across Latin America and an anti-incumbent fervor that has intensified as the pandemic has battered the region.

But critics say Petro is illsuited for office, arguing that his policies, which include a plan to halt all new oil exploration, would ruin the economy. He has also taken direct

swings at the country’s major institutions — most notably the armed forces.

Petro’s main opponent, Federico Gutierrez, 47, the candidate of the conservative establishment, proposes a more modest path forward.

“Of course we need to change many things,” he said, citing a plan that would ramp up fracking for oil, steer more money to local governments

and create a special unit to fight urban crime. “But changes can never mean a leap into the void without a parachute.”

The election comes at a difficult moment for the country. Polls show widespread dissatisfaction with the government of the current president, Ivan Duque.

Federico Rios / New York Times