A fresh start for Colombia ... and for US policy?

[Judi Lynn]

Gustavo Petro’s election offers a major turn in the country’s politics, but entrenched interests in both countries will try to make it difficult.

JUNE 22, 2022
Written by
Adam Isacson

June 19 was a historic day in Colombia. Latin America’s third-largest country has not elected a presidential candidate from the left, or any candidate promising reforms unpalatable to traditional elites, for at least 80 years. With shocking regularity, such candidates have been marginalized, intimidated, or even assassinated.

A 2016 peace accord with Colombia’s largest guerrilla group, the FARC, created new political space. So did the COVID pandemic, which plunged several million Colombians into economic insecurity, even desperation and hunger, and spurred mass protests in 2021. That enabled Gustavo Petro, a former member of the M-19 guerrilla group who renounced violence in a 1990 peace process, to win alongside Francia Márquez, a rural social movement leader who will become the country’s first Black vice president.

By a 3-point margin, Petro defeated Rodolfo Hernández, a right-wing populist “outsider” whose command of social media got him to second place in the first round of voting on May 29. More comfortable on viral videos than in public plazas, Hernández campaigned erratically during the second round, and fell short.

As the first president in nearly a century who doesn’t count among his base the tiny elite of one of the world’s most unequal countries, Gustavo Petro is promising to take Colombia in a much different direction. However, as he won narrowly and lacks a congressional majority, he is emphasizing dialogue and moderation. His victory speech reached out to Hernández’s supporters and voiced a desire to “develop capitalism in Colombia.”

More:
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/06/22/a-fresh-start-for-colombia-and-for-us-policy/

[SCantiGOP]

1. Good post

We should respect their sovereignty and reset relations, and also with Cuba while we are correcting long-standing mistakes.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Absolutely! So glad to see your comment. Thank you. 👋