Former Colombian congresswoman Ingrid Betancourt withdrew her presidential claim this Friday to join the campaign of independent businessman Rodolfo Hernández, who ranked third in the polls.
“I made the decision to support the only candidate who can defeat the system. We are going to step aside to support Rodolfo,” Betancourt said at a joint press conference with the 77-year-old candidate.
Kidnapped by FARC guerrillas (former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) between 2002 and 2008, when she was rescued in a military operation, Betancourt had only 0.8% of voting intentions. Twenty years after her first attempt to govern the country, frustrated by the kidnapping, she had returned to the podium in January, as an alternative to the Centro Esperanza coalition.
In less than three months, she sowed chaos in that coalition, abandoned the party and decided to run on her own, until she withdrew from the race again this Friday (20).
Betancourt shares sympathies in Colombia. Her story of resilience in enduring captivity is admired, but there are those who frown on the fact that she, who belongs to one of the richest families in the country, asked to be placed at the front of the line of those who would receive state compensation in reason for the kidnappings of the guerrilla now transformed into a political party.
In an interview with Sheet, Betancourt said that the agreement signed between the Colombian government and the FARC in 2016 is just the beginning of work that needs to be done. “The agreement sets a path, but it has to be traveled — and without political will, that doesn’t happen,” he said.
The one leading the polls for the presidential elections in Colombia so far is the leftist Gustavo Petro. In second place is Federico “Fico” Gutiérrez, a right-wing candidate linked to former president Álvaro Uribe. In addition to Hernández, former candidate Sergio Fajardo, former Universidad de los Andes dean Alejandro Gaviria and former senator Juan Manuel Galán are also running for the center.
The first round of the dispute is scheduled for May 29. If none of the candidates gets the support of more than 50% of voters, the two most voted will face each other in the second round, on June 19.
