The 2022 Colombia presidential election result has delivered a surprising twist. Leftist Senator Gustavo Petro has managed to come up first.
Although his performance was expected, no candidate was able to garner enough support to win the race directly. The shocker has to do with the second top candidate.
Rodolfo Hernandez, a populist and self-proclaimed “king of TikTok,” has qualified for the runoff.
The May 29 vote gave enough backing to the 77-year-old businessman to make it to the final round that is set for June 19.
Columbia votes amid challenges for President Iván Duque
Iván Duque, the current president who was elected in 2018, was not eligible for a second term. No matter who wins the runoff next month, they will face a country that is dealing with a lot of challenges.
Columbia is facing a lot of social unrest, and crime and security issues have risen to the top of the country’s preoccupations.
Moreover, two years after the coronavirus surfaced, the economy has still not fully recovered.
President Duque has seen his popularity crumble over his incapacity to handle inequality, police conduct, and violence between gangs.
However, he is touting the strength of the Colombian democracy. Additionally, he is promising a peaceful transfer of power.
Gustavo Petro makes it to the runoff with less certainty
The member of the Colombian Senate has dominated the conversation for weeks, and many expected him to have a really strong showing.
Petro, 62, finished first with 40.3% of the votes, ahead of Rodolfo Hernandez, who obtained 28.2%.
Petro, who first ran for president in 2010, was a finalist in the 2018 presidential election. He lost with 41.77% of the votes versus 54.03% for Duque.
The senator got a lot of attention in the international press because of his past as a member of the guerrilla group 19th of April Movement. He was 17 at the time.
By selecting environmental activist Francia Márquez as his running mate, Petro also gave his ticket a historical nature.
Márquez would become the country’s first Black vice president. Petro and his running mate are running on progressive policies like women’s rights and LGBTQ issues.
Mr. Petro has also vowed to make hunger a top priority during his tenure as president.
However, Colombia has never elected a leftist president.
If the left-leaning ticket triumphs in June, it would mark a tectonic shift in a country that has always been on the right.
It would also continue a trend in the region. In the past year, Chile and Honduras have both voted for leftist presidents.
Rodolfo Hernandez is a true political sensation
Hernandez is pushing an atypical persona that has helped his campaign take off in the final weeks of the race. Petro now has a real race on his hands.
The outcome is not certain because critics have been able to label the leftist as an heir to figures like Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro.
They believe that he will turn Colombia into Venezuela. The caricature might stick in a country that is fearful of the left in general.
Moreover, Hernandez is a surging candidate who was able to eliminate Federico Gutiérrez, the favored candidate of the establishment, out of the race. Gutiérrez finished third with just 23.92% of the votes.
As Colombia faces challenges, voters have decided to pick two top candidates who are polar opposites.
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