Petro defeated Rodolfo Hernández, a former Bucaramanga mayor and business tycoon, with 50.47% of the vote in Sunday’s run-off election, and will take office in July amid growing challenges, including growing discontent. for inequality and rising cost of living. Hernandez had 47.27%, with almost all the ballots counted, according to the results released by the election authorities. Peter’s election marks a tidal shift for Colombia, a country that has never had a left-wing president, followed by similar left-wing victories in Peru, Chile and Honduras. “Today is a party for the people,” the winning candidate wrote on Twitter on Sunday night after the results were completed. “May so much suffering be alleviated in the joy that today floods the heart of the homeland.” In his victory speech, Peter called for unity and extended an olive branch to some of his harshest critics, saying all members of the opposition would be welcomed into the presidential palace “to discuss Colombia’s problems”. “From this government that begins, there will never be political persecution or legal persecution, there will only be respect and dialogue,” he said, adding that he would listen not only to those who have taken up arms but also to this silent majority of farmers, natives, women, youth “. Outgoing Conservative President Iván Duque congratulated Petro shortly after the results were announced and Hernández quickly conceded defeat. “Today, the majority of citizens chose the other candidate. “As I said during the election campaign, I accept the results of this election,” Hernandez said in a video posted on social media. “I sincerely hope that this decision is beneficial for everyone.” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken congratulated “the people of Colombia who made their voices heard in a free and fair presidential election.” “We look forward to working with President-elect Petro to further strengthen US-Colombian relations and lead our nations to a better future,” he said in a statement. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called the former guerrilla’s victory “historic. “Colombian conservatives have always been persistent and tough,” López Obrador wrote on Twitter. Gustavo Petro’s supporters are celebrating his election as Colombia’s first left-wing president. Photo: Carlos Ortega / EPA Peter’s trip from an M-19 guerrilla fighter to the President in the 1980s also led him to become senator and mayor of the capital, Bogota. He has a reputation for maneuvering speeches and the palpable. Petro’s vice president will be Francia Márquez – an award-winning human rights and environmental advocate – marking the first time a black woman has taken office. “Today all women win,” Márquez wrote on Twitter as polls closed Sunday afternoon. “We are facing the greatest possibility of change lately.” “History is broken because since we became a democracy and gained independence 200 years ago, nothing like that has happened,” said Andres Felipe Barrero, a Petro supporter. “I am very happy with the election of the new president. “It fully signals the change we are waiting for, although it is a bit partial, it is the change we have been waiting for,” said Diego Leon, who also voted for Petros. “It’s really a new moment for Colombia,” said Luis Eduardo Celis, who works for the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation, a Colombian thinktank. “A Colombia that has a lot to offer: agrarian reform, an economy in the service of the people, fairer taxation, escape from hunger, poverty, end all this violence.” A Gustavo Petro supporter waves the national flag from his car. Photo: Raúl Arboleda / AFP / Getty Images Hernandez seemed to be a candidate, although he could not escape an almost constant stream of scandals. He referred to Hitler as the “great German thinker” and has been filmed wandering around with models on a yacht in Miami. His posts on TikTok – where he ran much of his campaign – were full of swearing and he refused to attend any discussion before Sunday’s vote. On the agenda of the new leader will be the stagnant peace process of the country with the leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which was signed in 2016 and officially ended five decades of civil war that killed more than 260,000 people and displaced 7 millions. Duke was accused of delaying the implementation of the agreement in order to undermine it. Another headache for Peter will be neighboring Venezuela, which has been plunged into the social, political and economic crisis for years. Petro has backed the opening of relations with Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro, opposing the Duke government’s policy of isolation. Petro is also committed to weaning the country from its dependence on fossil fuels, worrying investors. The election was intense, with many observers categorizing the race between two related outsiders as a broader reprimand against the political order. A number of traditional politicians were expelled in the first round. With Reuters and the Associated Press
