Conservative wins Colombia’s presidency in divisive election
BOGOTA, COLOMBIA» Ivan Duque, the young conservative protege of a powerful former president, was elected Colombia’s next leader Sunday after promising to roll back a fragile peace accord that has divided the South American nation.
Duque captured almost 54 percent of the vote, putting him 12 points ahead of former leftist guerrilla Gustavo Petro in a tense runoff election that had appeared to be tightening in recent days.
In the end, the prematurely graying 41-year-old sailed to victory, promising to change parts of the accord with leftist rebels but not “shred it to pieces” as some of his hawkish allies had been urging.
When he takes office in August, Duque will be Colombia’s youngest president in more than a century.
“The peace we all dream of demands corrections,” he told hundreds of jubilant supporters. “So that victims are the true center of the process and so that there is justice, reparations and no repetition.”
The new president will inherit a country still scarred by five decades of bloody armed conflict and grappling with soaring cocaine production. Former guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are struggling to reinsert themselves in civilian life in a nation where many people remain hesitant to forgive.
Vast swaths of remote territory remain under the control of violent drug mafias and residual rebel bands.
“Undoubtedly, for the peace process, this is an important test,” said Patricia Munoz, a professor of political science at the Pontifical Xavierian University in Bogota.
It was the first presidential election since the signing of the 2016 peace agreement ending Latin America’s longest-running conflict and was ultimately just as much about the divisive accord as it was deeply entrenched issues like persistent corruption and high levels of enduring inequality.
Petro energized young voters and drew millions to public plazas with his fiery speeches vowing to improve the lives of poor, disenfranchised Colombians.
And though he failed to catch Duque, his more than 8 million votes marked the biggest ballot box success for a leftist presidential contender yet in a country where leftist politicos have long been stigmatized over fears of potential ties to guerrilla causes.
“Perhaps as time passes people will be less scared about voting for left-wing politicians,” said Jorge Gallego, a professor at Colombia’s Rosario University. “Although with this result, it’s proven that Colombia is still a right-wing country.”
Petro took his loss in stride, refusing to call it a defeat and saying that “for now” he and his supporters won’t form a government — echoing the words used by socialist revolutionary Hugo Chavez following his failed 1992 coup against Venezuela’s government. Six years later Chavez was elected president, setting the stage for a surge of the left throughout Latin America.
He challenged Duque to break with his hard-line allies and promised to transform his considerable following into a vocal opposition that would push for social reforms and stand by the peace accord.
“Those eight million Colombians are not going to let Colombia return to war,” Petro said to a thunderous applause from supporters chanting “Resistance!”
Colombia’s peace process to end a conflict that left more than 250,000 people dead is considered largely irreversible.
Most of the more than 7,000 rebels who have surrendered their weapons have started new lives as farmers, community leaders and journalists. Last year the rebels launched a new political party and will soon occupy 10 seats in congress.