Colombia chooses president between two radical and uncertain options for change

Colombians began voting this Sunday to elect a president between the leftist Gustavo Petro and the independent Rodolfo Hernández, two non-party candidateswith radical proposals for change for a country in crisis.

The voting began at 1:00 p.m. GMT with the vote of President Iván Duque, prevented by law from running for re-election. The president voted in the central Plaza de Bolívar, in Bogotá.

Petro, for his part, voted in a popular neighborhood of Bogotá and after voting, he launched: "Today we undoubtedly have to defeat any attempt at fraud with a massive vote".

The national registrar, Alexander Vega, defended the task of the electoral authority that he heads: "Despite the misinformation (…) the electoral process remains firm and strong"he said in a public intervention with Duque.

Hernandez, who denounced a plan to assassinate him after the first round, he voted in the morning guarded by several escorts in the city of Bucaramanga, of which he was mayor.

Some 39 million Colombians are voluntarily called to the polls until 9:00 p.m. GMT.

Until a week ago, the polls showed a technical tie.

The senator and former guerrilla Petro, 62, won the first round with 40% of the vote compared to 28% for Hernández (77), but his advantage was shattered after the game of alliances and a very aggressive campaign, with leaks and side and side low blows.

the electors punished the forces that have historically ruled and they will choose between two uncertain alternatives that arouse fears in different sectors.

If Petro wins, the left will come to power for the first time and if the victory is for Hernández, a millionaire without a party entangled with justice will be at the head of the country.

"Colombians had never faced this, not going where their enthusiasm points them but towards the one that will do them less harm."says Michael Shifter, of the Inter-American Dialogue.

"I came to vote to make a change. Since I am young, I want a better future for myself and for others. I don’t think whoever wins today is good but it will still be a change"Valentina Ríos, a 19-year-old cheerleader, told AFP in Bogotá.

trouble menu

Colombia arrives fractured at this ballot and with a worn out and unpopular government.

Harshly repressed, the protests of 2019, 2020 and 2021 reflected a profound discomfort in the face of inequality and lack of opportunities, mainly for young people.

The pandemic worsened poverty, which today reaches 39% of the 50 million Colombians. Unemployment is around 11% and informality 45%. Drug trafficking and the violence associated with this activity, with various armed groups expanding throughout the territory, will also be challenges for the next government.

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Petro and Hernández represent rupture and change, but with opposite models. The first wants to transform the health and pension system, and suspend oil exploration to make way for clean energy, in the face of the climate crisis.

"The country needs social justice to be able to build itself in peace (…) that is, less poverty, less hunger, less inequality, more rights. If you don’t do that, the violence deepens."Petro maintains.

Hernández landed in this contest as a wealthy outsider, with an anti-corruption and austerity message.

"I am going to reduce the size of the State, put an end to corruption and replace with efficient and non-corrupt officials those who have been placed in previous governments and who are marked by incapacity"he points out.

Both have experience as mayors. Petro governed Bogotá (2012-2015), and Hernández Bucaramanga (2016-2019), a city of some 600,000 inhabitants. The first is an economist who wants the rich to pay more taxes and the other an engineer who plans to reduce VAT from 19% to 10%.

They agree that they will restore relations with Venezuela, support the 2016 peace agreement with the extinct FARC, and seek dialogue with the National Liberation Army, the last recognized guerrilla group in the country.

"Neither of them is good, but we have to vote for the least worst, and the least worst is Rodolfo. The other has been a guerrilla and that’s what young people don’t see"said Ruth Sepúlveda, a 54-year-old housewife in Bucaramanga.

Both presidential candidates chose women with African roots for the vice presidency. The environmentalist Francia Márquez accompanies Petro’s formula and the academic Marelen Castillo that of Hernández.

The fears

Faced with the imminent turnaround, doubts and fears grow. Powerful sectors and the Armed Forces resist Petro because of his past and his reform projects that, they fear, will affect private property and lead the country towards a failed socialism.

If it wins, the military must swear allegiance to a former guerrilla in a country traumatized by a six-decade conflict with far-left rebels.

also has a "personality that many associate with intransigence, stubbornness and with an ego that limits dialogue"maintains the political scientist from the Javeriana University Patricia Muñoz.

With Hernández, uncertainty reigns. The tycoon who promises to eradicate corruption He is called to trial for irregularities in a contract signed in his time as mayor, which could prevent him from governing. He is a tongue-in-cheek politician, who frequently backs down and has made sexist comments.

Have "Little knowledge of the State (…) How is he going to govern when his speech has been against the congressmen and the political class?"raises the academic.

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