By: Staff Writer
May 24, 2022
Colombia’s presidential elections are going to be held this Sunday, May 29 us and there’s a lot of discussion about who might win, who might make it through to the second round, and what else to expect. So far we have a leftist, a centre right and a right winger in addition to a historical first, a female Black vice presidential candidate. We will be watching this Sunday.
On May 29, over 39m Colombians will go to the electoral boards to elect the president and vice president for the period 2022-2026. The elections take place amid a great polarization among voters and a strong scenario of violence against candidates, most of whom closed their election campaigns on May 22 with massive acts in several cities.
The three main candidates are as different as chalk, cheese and chocolate. Gustavo Petro is he front runner. Senator Petro previously fought for the Nineteenth of April Movement (M-19), a guerrilla group, and later became the mayor of Bogota. He led in a late April poll, with more than 40 percent of respondents expressing support, which means he is poised to be one of the two candidates in a run-off election in June. His running mate, Francia Marquez, would become Colombia’s first Black vice president if the pair is elected.
Petro’s campaign has focused on economic and environmental matters, including a promise to transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydropower. However, with oil and coal accounting for nearly 60 percent of Colombia’s total exports, his opponents argue this vision isn’t realistic. He has also pledged to combat income inequality [PDF], tax the rich, reform the health-care and pension systems, and weed out corruption.
The second candidate or note is Federico “Fico” Gutierrez, a civil engineer by training and the former mayor of Medellin, Gutierrez is the leading conservative candidate. He draws support from a coalition of center-right parties that includes former President Alvaro Uribe as well as supporters of President Duque. Best known for his tough-on-crime policies, Gutierrez has promised to restore law and order to a country where social unrest, crime rates, and cartel activity are on the rise.
While he has championed his own anti-poverty policies, including boosting wages and expanding social assistance, he has attacked Petro’s economic plans as being too radical and potentially disastrous. Gutierrez has compared Petro’s candidacy to that of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who oversaw a socialist overhaul of Venezuela and whose successor, Nicolas Maduro, has systematically dismantled the country’s democracy.
Rodolfo Hernandez is an independent and relatively new to politics, having previously only served as mayor of a departmental capital. Hernandez has gained attention for his unconventional proposals, including calls to legalize cocaine, and his anticorruption stance. He has also received support from a former presidential candidate, Ingrid Betancourt.
Hernandez is a populist outsider is shaking up Colombia’s presidential election in the final days of campaigning, opening up what had largely been a two-horse race between radical leftwing senator Gustavo Petro and Federico Gutiérrez of the centre-right.
A 77-year-old businessman and anti-corruption crusader, Hernandez’s popularity has shot up in opinion polls and threatens to pip Gutiérrez to second place in next Sunday’s vote. If he does, he is likely to face Petro in a run-off in June — and polls suggest it would be a close fight.
“The Colombian people and I are the only ones who can beat Petro in the second round,” Hernández wrote on Twitter this week after three polls suggested he was gaining momentum and closing on Gutiérrez. “I will be your president.”