But on Sunday, Gustavo Petro, 62, finally managed to tear down that wall and was elected president, writing history as the first left-wing head of state in the South American country. “We are not going to betray the electorate that shouted against history,” Peter said in a triumphant speech in Bogota on Sunday night, to which he was applauded. “It’s what Colombia is changing from today.” Peter’s trip from the M-19 guerrilla ranks to the Bogota presidential palace also included an arrest for possession of a weapon when he was younger. He also said he had survived torture. The M-19 was demobilized in 1990, with some of its members signing Colombia’s current constitution. Other members were killed, including Carlos Pizarro, her presidential candidate, that year. Petro’s victory over Rodolfo Hernández, a businessman and blunder-ridden former Bucaramanga mayor who once referred to Hitler as the “great German thinker”, was met with street parties by supporters across the country. He will take office in early August. Elections in Colombia: Gustavo Petro elected first left-wing president – video “Petros has a completely different vision because he has focused his attention on the most vulnerable people in the country,” said Andres Felipe Barrero, who voted for Petros on Sunday night. “And that includes people living in the suburbs of Colombia’s big cities, as well as black and indigenous communities.” As mayor of Bogota, he gained a reputation for excellence and aggressiveness toward his critics, while implementing a harm reduction program for the city’s homeless, as well as trying to reform garbage management. Petro’s vice president will be Francia Márquez, the first black woman to hold the post. Márquez, an unmarried mother and human rights defender from the oppressed region of the Pacific of Colombia, won the prestigious 2018 Goldman Environmental Award. “After 214 years we have achieved a government of the people, a people’s government of good people, a government of the people on their feet, of no one in Colombia,” Márquez said at the celebration. Despite the euphoria of Sunday night, Peter’s time in power is likely to be extremely difficult. Not only does his 50.47% share of the vote give him a slim tenure, but he is met with extreme suspicion by a significant part of the country, which equates him with guerrilla groups and left-wing powerful in the region. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST “In a traditional conservative right-wing country, some Colombians fear how much can change with a left-wing government,” said Silvana Amaya, a senior analyst at global risk advisory firm Control Risks, ahead of Sunday’s vote. “Some Colombians liken the left to Chavez and the socio-economic misery in Venezuela. “Others believe that a country that has experienced an internal conflict for more than 60 years under the leadership of left-wing guerrilla groups should not allow such an ideology to rule Colombia.” His plans to revive Colombia’s economy away from fossil fuels and to agriculture are likely to scare markets. Gustavo Petro supporters celebrate his victory in Bogota. Photo: Perla Bayona / LongVisual / ZUMA Press Wire / Rex / Shutterstock Despite fears of a Petro victory, Election Day was held without violence or allegations of fraud, surprising some in a country that has long had a reputation for political bloodshed. “Today we celebrate Colombian democracy and its peaceful election,” Brian A Nichols, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, wrote on Twitter on Sunday. “We look forward to working closely with Petro’s management to advance mutual goals for the Colombian and American people.” Also high on Petro’s agenda will be the country’s fragile peace process 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 7 million. The agreement was implemented both ways by the outgoing government of President Iván Duque, who has been accused of deliberately delaying its development. Unarmed Farc faction factions and other rebel groups such as the National Liberation Army (ELN) continue to rock the countryside and take advantage of drug trafficking and blackmail operations. “The candidate who promised the most, and in the most detail, to implement the 2016 peace agreement has been elected,” said Adam Isaacson, director of defense oversight at the Washington Office for Latin America, a US-based think tank. “A key element of Petro’s plan is to increase governance and basic services in the neglected countryside where armed groups and coca continue to thrive, and that is the key commitment of the peace agreement. “Much of his electoral base is in these historically conflicting areas, where he was overwhelmingly voted on.” Edinson Bolaños contributed to the report from Bogota.
