Tight Colombian runoff pits former insurgent, millionaire

BOGOTA, Colombia — Voters in Colombia will select between a former insurgent and an unpredictable millionaire Sunday once they vote in a presidential runoff that guarantees to reshape the nation after a primary spherical election that punished the political class.

Polls present leftist Gustavo Petro and outsider Rodolfo Hernández — each former mayors — virtually tied since topping 4 different candidates within the preliminary Could 29 election wherein neither obtained sufficient votes to win outright, forcing the runoff. About 39 million individuals are eligible to vote Sunday, however abstentionism has been above 40% in each presidential election since 1990.

Colombians are voting amid widespread discontent over rising inequality, inflation and violence. The dissatisfaction with the nation’s circumstances is such that within the first spherical voters turned their backs on the long-governing centrist and right-leaning politicians and selected two outsiders.

Petro, a 62-year-old senator, is in his third presidential marketing campaign. A Petro victory would put an finish to voters’ long-held marginalization of the left on account of its perceived affiliation with the nation’s armed battle. Petro was as soon as a insurgent with the now-defunct M-19 motion and was granted amnesty after being jailed for his involvement with the group.

He has proposed bold pension, tax, well being and agricultural reforms and modifications to how Colombia fights drug cartels and different armed teams. He obtained 40% of the votes throughout final month’s election and Hernández 28%, however the distinction rapidly narrowed as Hernández started to garner the so-called anti-Petrista votes.

Petro might develop into the most recent leftist political victory in Latin America fueled by voters’ want for change. Chile, Peru and Honduras elected leftist presidents in 2021, and in Brazil, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is main the polls for this 12 months’s presidential election.

In the meantime, the 77-year-old Hernández, who made his cash in actual property, shouldn’t be affiliated with any main political social gathering and has rejected alliances. His austere marketing campaign, waged totally on TikTok and different social media platforms, was self-financed.

His proposals are based mostly on a struggle towards corruption, which he blames for poverty and the lack of state assets that could possibly be used on social applications. He needs to cut back the scale of presidency by eliminating varied embassies and presidential places of work, turning the presidential palace right into a museum and lowering using the president’s plane fleet.

Hernández surged late within the first-round marketing campaign previous extra typical candidates and shocked many when he completed second. He has confronted controversies together with saying he admired Adolf Hitler after which apologizing saying that he meant to consult with Albert Einstein.

Silvia Otero Bahamón, political science professor on the Universidad del Rosario, stated that though each candidates are populists who “have an ideology based mostly on the division between the corrupt elite and the folks,” each sees their struggle towards the institution otherwise.

“Petro pertains to the poor, the ethnic and cultural minorities of probably the most peripheral areas of the nation, who’re lastly taken under consideration and invited to take part in democracy,” Otero stated. Whereas Hernández’s supporters are “extra ethereal, they’re the individuals who have been let down by politicking and corruption. It’s a looser group, which the candidate reaches immediately by way of social networks.”

Polls present the massive majority of Colombians imagine the nation is heading within the improper route and disapprove of President Iván Duque, who was not eligible to hunt reelection. The pandemic set again the nation’s anti-poverty efforts by not less than a decade. Official figures present that 39% of Colombia’s lived on lower than $89 a month final 12 months, a slight enchancment from 42.5% in 2020.

The looming change away from conventional presidential politics has stirred fears in some on this conservative, principally Roman Catholic nation. Many are basing their determination on what they are not looking for, as a substitute of what they do need.

“Many individuals stated ‘I don’t care who’s standing towards Petro, I’m going to vote for whomever represents the opposite candidate, no matter who that particular person is,’” stated Silvana Amaya, a senior analyst with the agency Management Dangers. “That additionally works the opposite means round. Rodolfo has been portrayed as this loopy previous man, communication genius and lavish character that some folks say: ‘I don’t care who I’ve to vote for, however I don’t need him to be my president.’”

Each males can have a tricky time delivering on their guarantees as neither has a majority in Congress, which is vital to finishing up reforms.

In current legislative elections, Petro’s political motion obtained 20 seats within the Senate, a relative majority, however he would nonetheless should make concessions in negotiations with different events. Hernández’s political motion solely has two representatives within the decrease home, so he would even have to hunt agreements with lawmakers, who he has alienated by repeatedly calling “thieves.”

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Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela.