FUSAGASUGA, Colombia (Reuters) – Colombian leftist Gustavo Petro leads the race for the nation’s presidency forward of a second spherical of voting, having impressed his supporters to think about a extra equitable, greener nation, they are saying.
But guarantees of radical change from the previous M-19 rebel may now resonate much less with those that need a break from Colombia’s conventional political equipment: Petro’s shock rival within the June 19 run-off will probably be Rodolfo Hernandez – a septuagenarian who has run a populist marketing campaign as an impartial, anti-establishment maverick.
Petro gained 40.3% of votes in Sunday’s first spherical, whereas Hernandez tallied 28.2%. He was adopted by centre-right Federico ‘Fico’ Gutierrez, who gained 23.9% and had been seen because the continuity candidate broadly predicted to be Petro’s second-round rival.
Known for his eccentric movies on TikTok, Hernandez has promised to strengthen legislation and order and create jobs, although particulars of his plans have been scant.
Petro, the 62-year-old former mayor of capital Bogota, is making his third bid for the presidency on reforms he says will start to right centuries of social injustice.
“Today the assassin is in energy, the thief is in energy, that is why we should change who’s in energy if we wish to have the ability to reside on this nation, to easily reside,” Petro instructed a rally within the agricultural metropolis of Fusagasuga earlier this month.
Petro had structured a lot of his rhetoric across the want for change, casting Gutierrez as representing the identical political pursuits as unpopular present President Ivan Duque and his mentor, political heavyweight ex-President Alvaro Uribe.
“What we should always concern shouldn’t be altering the nation,” Petro stated.
But the anti-establishment rhetoric of Hernandez, the previous mayor of Bucaramanga, and his promise to finish privileges for officers and govern frugally will scupper Petro’s narrative, analysts stated, particularly given Gutierrez and plenty of of his supporters will now again Hernandez.
How did every candidate in Colombia’s presidential election do within the first spherical of voting? https://graphics.reuters.com/COLOMBIA-ELECTION/zgvomeykjvd/chart.png
“This is the state of affairs that Petro feared essentially the most,” stated Daniela Cuellar, senior guide at FTI Consulting in Bogota.
“Petro’s rhetoric performs finest when he paints himself rallying towards a candidate from the elite. That dialectic oratory fizzles considerably when countering one other candidate from outdoors the interior circles of energy who additionally guarantees change.”
Petro is prone to attempt to emphasise that regardless of Hernandez’s calls to finish corruption, the 77-year-ol himself is beneath investigation for graft, stated Colombia Risk Analysis founder Sergio Guzman.
The probe by the lawyer normal’s workplace considerations allegations Hernandez intervened in a trash assortment tender when he was mayor to learn an organization his son had lobbied for.
“It may work with centrists, however clearly their votes are minimal,” stated Guzman, referring to low scores within the first spherical for 3 different candidates who polled lower than 6% mixed. “Fico voters and Uribe supporters would vote for a rock earlier than they vote for Petro.”
“Petro has three weeks to spin his marketing campaign narrative on its head … he’s unlikely to succeed,” stated Guzman.
OUT WITH THE OLD
Petro supporters of all ages instructed Reuters they consider he’s the candidate to deliver change to the Andean nation, particularly through his environmental insurance policies – together with a ban on new oil contracts – and his promise to supply free public college research.
Free tuition can be life-changing, stated social science pupil Santiago Castillo, 20, who attended the Fusagasuga rally.
“It’s actually robust to entry schooling as a result of we will not make ends meet,” stated Castillo, who additionally works as a waiter. “With him we all know we cannot must kill ourselves or cease sleeping.”
Olgia Depolo was waving a big Petro flag and got here to the rally together with her grownup grandson.
“We’ve had the identical imaginative and prescient for years, not 4 years however 4 a long time,” she stated.
But Hernandez supporters stated it was the civil engineer, who says he amassed a fortune of $100 million through his development firm regardless of humble beginnings, who finest understands the change Colombians need.
“Despite his errors I hope he can decrease corruption,” stated Gloria Gracia, 61, a bodily schooling and dance instructor who voted for Hernandez instructed Reuters, including she likes that he financed his marketing campaign himself and values rural communities.
Hernandez’s farmer father was held for months by the FARC guerrillas a long time in the past, whereas his daughter Juliana was kidnapped by the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels in 2004 and is believed to have been murdered in captivity.
Like Petro, Hernandez has stated he would totally implement a 2016 peace cope with the FARC rebels and search peace talks with the ELN.
(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; Additional reporting by Oliver Griffin, Carlos Vargas and Nelson Bocanegra; Editing by Christian Plumb, Rosalba O’Brien and Kenneth Maxwell)
