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On the one hand, a left-wing candidate; on the other, an eccentric politician considered an underdog. Remember an election in Brazil? Just not. The subject of the moment is the presidential race in Colombia. The second round will be held on Sunday (19), between Gustavo Petro and Rodolfo Hernández. Do you know who they are?
Calm down, before showing the main proposals of each one, I invited special reporter Sylvia Colombo to list five factors that help to understand the claim.
1) Presence of young people
Voting is not mandatory in the country, and youth participation can have an impact on traditionally high abstention. They have been more involved in local politics since major protests last year and into 2019.
“This ended up catapulting the Petro. According to research, most of these young people went to the leftist side”, says Sylvia. Colombia has never had a president in this field.
2) Economy
The 2018 election was the first after the peace agreement with the FARC and had this theme at its center. Now, amid the improvement in the pandemic, issues that impact the pocket are more latent: inflation, employment, salary and welfare.
3) Violence
Despite President Iván Duque’s bellicose discourse on organized crime, violence in the country is worse today than it was four years ago.
“Uribism [corrente liderada pelo caudilho de direita Álvaro Uribe] and Duque were represented in the candidacy of the rightist Federico ‘Fico’ Gutiérrez, but she was ruled out in the first round. The population understood that this is not the best way to combat violence”, evaluates Sylvia.
4) Diversity
In an unprecedented way, women gain prominence. Both candidates are running for black women: Petro’s running mate is Francia Márquez, a 40-year-old lawyer and environmental activist; with Hernández is Marelen Castillo Torres, pedagogue and political newcomer.
5) Polarization and attacks
As in the last Brazilian elections, the dispute is polarized and marked by an exchange of barbs. Petro’s team said it was spied on and the victim of a “dirty attack” after a magazine released videos showing campaign members discussing, in foul language, strategies to attack competitors.
The factors reported by Sylvia help to explain how the second round was formed, with the defeat of the more traditional parties.
The Colombians’ decision to take Petro and Hernández to the final contest is linked to a strong rejection of Duque and the policies of the right. But who are the candidates?
Gustavo Petro, 62
A former member of the M-19, an urban guerrilla who operated from the 1970s to the 1990s, he was arrested and tortured in the 1980s. A senator twice, he led the mayor of the Colombian capital, Bogotá, the second most important post in the country.
What promises: agrarian reform, reduction of the unemployment rate (today at 12%) through the creation of vacancies in the State and reduction of the economy’s dependence on oil. Petro said that his government would be a social democracy and that expropriations were out of the plan.
Rodolfo Hernandez, 77
Rich businessman in the construction sector, he was mayor of Bucaramanga and has a poor background. He surprised in the first round, overcoming traditional right-wing candidates. He campaigns based on an anti-corruption discourse and a strong presence on social media — with daily reports in live broadcasts (remember anyone?).
In his curriculum, he accumulates controversies. He has already given an interview in his pajamas and said he was an admirer of Adolf Hitler – later he apologized and said he had confused the Nazi dictator with the scientist Albert Einstein.
What promises: the government program is vague and mixes right and left elements. Despite being against abortion and equal marriage, he is in favor of legalizing drugs.
Image of the week
Where: moscow, russia
What happened: hundreds of people formed huge lines to enter former McDonald’s units that reopened on Sunday (12), now as a local brand. The new restaurants were named Vkousno i tochka (delicious and full stop). The CEO of the group that took charge of the network, Oleg Paroiev, said he strives for customers not to notice differences in the products.
And the War?
The conflicts in Ukraine remain concentrated in the Donbass region, whose dominance is one of the declared objectives of the Kremlin, with the siege increasingly closing for Kiev’s troops.
Russian forces have destroyed access to Severodonetsk, a city considered vital for taking the entire province of Lugansk, and impose a siege similar to what happened in Mariupol. Ukraine’s military chiefs say they are losing the war in the east of the country due to lack of ammunition.
More and more Ukrainians are shouting about the fatigue identified in the West with the war. Research released on Wednesday (15) shows that Europeans are more likely to support a peace agreement that ends the war, even with concessions from Kiev, than to seek punishment from Russia at any cost.
Don’t miss the latest updates on the conflict here.
What happened?
A selection of news to understand the world
Asia: The Parliament of Japan approved on Monday (13) a bill to toughen the penalty for cases of bullying over the internet, cyberbullying. The discussion on the topic gained traction after the suicide of Hana Kimura, 22, a fighter who participated in a reality show on Netflix.
Oceania: Australia announced on Saturday (11) a deal with the French shipyard Naval Group over the breach of a billion-dollar contract for the construction of nuclear-powered submarines. Canberra sparked a diplomatic crisis with Paris after signing a military pact with the US and UK.
Middle East: Iran began removing monitoring equipment from the atomic energy agency on Thursday. The country warned it would retaliate after a resolution criticizing Tehran for failing to explain traces of uranium at three sites. The move generated criticism.
