Gustavo Petro, a former member of the now-disbanded left-wing militant group M-19, won Colombia’s tightly contested presidential election on Sunday, becoming the country’s first leftist president in the process. Petro, who ran on a platform seeking to end inequality and poverty, has promised to give the state a greater role in the economy.
Petro, 62, narrowly beat rival Rodolfo Hernández, a real estate mogul, with 50.48% votes 50.48% of the votes in the run-off election. About 21.6 million, or 55%, of the 39 million eligible voters cast their ballots. Petro’s running mate Francia Márquez will become the Vice President, the first Afro-Colombian politician and the second woman to be appointed to the post.
Let’s look at the three departments where Gustavo Petro won by the biggest margins:
— Alex Bare (@alexbaretv) June 20, 2022
1) Chocó, 81.9%
2) Nariño, 80.9%
3) Putumayo, 79.7%
Two Pacific departments, and one Amazonian. pic.twitter.com/0mv8GNcQrx
“Today is a holiday for the people. Let them celebrate the first popular victory,” Petro tweeted immediately after the results were announced. “May so many sufferings be cushioned in the joy that today floods the heart of the Homeland,” he added.
“The government of hope has arrived,” he told cheering supporters while delivering his victory speech. “Frankly speaking, we are going to develop capitalism in Colombia because we need to overcome pre-modernity and feudalism,” he said, adding that “a new economy [would come], a productive one that would create jobs.”
#BREAKING | According to the pre-count of votes (94.57%), the new President of Colombia would be Gustavo Petro. pic.twitter.com/G3xq6JDmF1
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) June 19, 2022
Petro promised to unify the country’s rival political factions and “discuss the problems of Colombia” with his harshest critics. “From this government that is beginning there will never be political persecution or legal persecution, there will only be respect and dialogue,” he declared.
In his concession speech, Hernández said that he accepted the results and “sincerely” hoped that Petro’s victory is “beneficial for everyone.” He added, “I hope that Dr. Petro knows how to lead the country, that he’s loyal to his discourse against corruption, and that he doesn’t defraud those who believed in him.”
Outgoing conservative President Iván Duque congratulated Petro on his victory and “agreed to meet [him] in the coming days to initiate a harmonious, institutional and transparent transition.”
Congratulations to the Colombian people for exercising their right to vote and reaffirming the strength of their democracy. We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with President-Elect @petrogustavo and building a more democratic and equitable hemisphere.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) June 20, 2022
Petro was also congratulated by United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “Congratulations to the Colombian people for exercising their right to vote and reaffirming the strength of their democracy,” Blinken said. He added that the US looks forward to strengthening its close ties with Colombia under Petro to “building a more democratic and equitable hemisphere.”
Over the course of its troubled history, Colombia has always seen either a centrist or centre-right leader elected to power, owing to a decades-long violent insurgency by leftist groups led by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which played a major role in drug smuggling operations. As a result, Bogotá has relied on Washington for military support as part of the US’ war on drugs.
In this regard, Petro has vowed to fully implement the terms of the 2016 agreement with FARC, pointing to the fact that former militants have regularly been targeted by law enforcement.
Gustavo Petro, candidate of the Pacto Histórico, is cheered on by huge crowds as Colombia votes in its second round presidential election.pic.twitter.com/S4Vvr0xBaK
— Kawsachun News (@KawsachunNews) June 19, 2022
However, Petro’s victory has threatened to shake the foundation of Colombia’s long-standing alliance with the US, as he has insisted on slowly undoing several policies aimed at combatting drug production and violence. He has blamed current policies of burning acres of coca crop of not doing much to combat the illegal drug trade and has instead advocated for methods of increasing rural development and providing alternate employment opportunities to coca farmers.
The new president also favours drug legalisation, although he has not made public the details of such a plan.
In addition, Petro has promised to restore ties with Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, a move that could jeopardise ties with the US.
In fact, Maduro hailed Petro’s victory and said it will usher in change in the country. “I congratulate Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez for their historic victory in the Presidential elections in Colombia,” Maduro said, adding, “The will of the Colombian people, who came out to defend the path of democracy and peace, was heard. New times are in sight for this sister country.”
Petro was also congratulated by the leaders of Cuba, Mexico, Argentina, Panama, Honduras, Peru, Chile, and Bolivia. All of these Latin American countries, with the exception of Cuba (which has been ruled by the Communist Party for decades), have witnessed a rise in the popularity of left-wing political parties in recent years, a change that has been referred to as the Pink Tide. Bolivia, Chile, Peru, and Honduras, for example, have all elected left-wing leaders in the past two years. Even Brazil, which is currently led by right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, has witnessed the tide shift in favour of leftist politician, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is leading the polls for this year’s presidential election.
Petro has also vowed to ban new oil projects, which analysts worry could impact foreign investment, with national debt already at 72% of the GDP. Moreover, oil exports currently account for around 10% of income. Petro, however, has said he will honour existing contracts.
Furthermore, the incoming president has pledged to raise taxes on owners of ‘unproductive’ land, provide free university education, and reform the pension system.
He won the election in his third attempt at the highest office after winning in the first round of elections held back in May. Given the highly polarised nature of Colombian politics and the close-fought nature of this election, it appears unclear how well Petro will be able to eneact the kind of changes he has envisioned.