PoliticsColombia elects president amidst widespread discontent

Colombia elects president amidst widespread discontent

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A Colombia beginning to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic elected its next president on Sunday from among six candidates promising varying degrees of change in the face of rising inequality, inflation, violence and dissatisfaction with the status quo.

One of the candidates was former guerrilla Gustavo Petro, who could become Colombia’s first leftist president on Sunday if he gets the 50% of the vote needed to win in the first round. If no one gets more than half of the ballots, a runoff will be held between the top two vote-getters.

Polls showed Petro in the lead but below 50%. He was followed by a populist real estate tycoon promising financial rewards for tips on corrupt officials and a conservative who has tried to distance himself from the unpopular president, conservative Ivan Duque.

This is the second presidential election since the government signed a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), but the divisive agreement was not a key issue in the campaign, which focused on issues such as poverty and corruption.

It will be Petro’s third attempt at presiding over the South American country. In 2018 he was defeated by Duque, who is not eligible for re-election.

His victory could usher in a new political era in a country that has always been governed by conservatives or moderates and marginalized the left due to the perceived association with the country’s armed conflict. Petro was part of the now defunct M-19 rebel movement and was granted amnesty after serving time in prison for his involvement with the group.

He has promised significant adjustments to the economy, such as tax reform, as well as changes to Colombia’s fight against drug cartels and other armed groups. His biggest rival for much of the campaign has been Federico Gutierrez, former mayor of Medellin, who has the support of most of Colombia’s traditional parties and based his campaign on a policy of supporting the business sector to boost the economy.

Gutierrez has promised to fight hunger by expanding subsidies and public-private partnerships so that 10 tons of food that goes to waste each year will go to the poorest.

A Gallup poll this month showed that 75% of Colombians believe the country is headed in the wrong direction and just 27% support Duque. A Gallup poll last year found that 60% of respondents had trouble making ends meet.

Anti-poverty efforts in the country were set back at least a decade by the coronavirus pandemic. Official figures showed that 39% of Colombia’s 51.6 million people lived on less than $89 a month last year, a slight improvement from 42.5% in 2020.

Meanwhile, the country’s inflation hit a two-decade high last month. Duque’s government has said the 9.2% rate in April is part of a global inflationary phenomenon, but the argument has not assuaged discontent over rising food prices.

In addition to economic challenges, Colombia’s next president will have to deal with a complex security and corruption situation, a major concern for voters.

SourceAP

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