On the eve of the Colombian presidential election, the favorite of the polls is the left-wing candidate Gustavo Petro. Right-wing conservative candidate Federico Gutierrez is competing for the second round with Rodolfo Hernandez, an anti-system figure gaining ground on the internet.
The first round of presidential elections in Colombia will be held this Sunday (29). Voting favorite Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla fighter and former mayor of Bogotá. The left-wing candidate continues to lead the polls, receiving more than 40% of the vote intent.
“I am confident we will change Colombian history,” he said confidently during his last rally on Sunday, 22nd. For the first time, the former guerrilla has a real shot at becoming the first left-wing president of Colombia, a country traditionally ruled by the right. This is the third time the social democrat senator has been nominated in one of the most unequal countries in the world.
Petro’s illiberal program is meeting the demands of hundreds of thousands of Colombian protesters who took to the streets last year. The nominee promises to raise taxes, raise wages and provide quality public education for the wealthiest.
Conservative opponents, however, describe Gustavo Petro as an ultra-leftist. His rhetoric against corruption and in favor of the implementation of the 2016 peace agreements with the FARC clashes with the interests of paramilitary groups, not to mention drug traffickers. For several weeks, about 60 guards accompanied the island. The risk of an attack on him is considered real: Earlier in the month, Gustavo Petro had to cancel his trip after receiving death threats from a criminal group.
Right supports former Medellin mayor
Second in the polls is the conservative candidate Federico Gutierrez, known as Fico, who was a city councilor between 2004 and 2012 before he was elected mayor of Medellín. Gutierrez acted with an iron fist against organized crime networks during his tenure from 2016 to 2020, according to an RFI correspondent in Najet Benrabaa, the Colombian capital.
In addition to being known for his suppression of drug gang leaders, Gutierrez is also responsible for the largest investment in education in the country’s history, raising employment and entrepreneurship levels. His popularity rating as mayor exceeded 80%.
At 47, career civil engineer is also an urban planner and city safety consultant. He runs for president without a political party, but with a coalition called “Equipo por Colombia” (Team Colombia, in free translation). The group brings together various right and center parties and has the support of more traditional parties such as the Democratic Centre, U Party and Radical Change.
Gutierrez’s campaign speech mainly focuses on the “protection of democracy and freedoms” against the left-wing candidate Gustavo Petro, who is touted as the representative of a “populist and authoritarian project”.
Rodolfo Hernández Suárez, populist candidate and surprise
However, Federico Gutierrez’s second place is threatened by independent candidate Rodolfo Hernández Suárez, who has risen in the polls, in a sign that Colombians are fed up with traditional parties. “When I talk about fighting corruption, I mean Colombia needs a moral renewal,” says the candidate, who was not recognized on the national political scene until a few weeks ago.
The millionaire, who made his fortune by building social housing, financed his own election campaign to support his statements. It does not hold rallies and has a reduced campaign team of only eight people. Their videos of easy promises do not reveal elaborate government programs. But the strategy was successful on social media, turning the 76-year-old candidate into a “lover” of young TikTok users.
This is the case of student Santiago, who, as everyone says, will vote for “Rodolfo”. “He was really bad in the polls at first. But suddenly we saw him grow up. He is a strong candidate even though he is a member of former politics. He has a strong character and very frankness,” the young man was interviewed in Bogotá by RFI special envoy Stefanie Schüler.
It is precisely Hernández Suarez’s spectacular progress in voting intentions that worries favorite Gustavo Petro. The populist candidate attracts centrist votes and anti-system voices, the same voter Gustavo Petro needs to go to the runoff.
(with information from RFI)
source: Noticias
