![]() ![]() ![]() Unfortunately, a blighted electoral process left these municipalities open to coercion and some of those elected have links to traditional parties or paramilitary networks. Though created in the 2016 peace agreement, the seats’ activation had been impeded by Democratic Centre opposition. The new congressional term also saw the belated enactment of the Special Districts for Peace, 16 congressional seats created for representatives of regions badly impacted by conflict and state abandonment. President Duque’s party, the Democratic Centre, saw its electoral performance tank in the congressional elections, causing its candidate to withdraw and officially endorse Gutiérrez. ‘Fico’, as he is known, will enjoy the backing of business elites, much of the press and a large number of middle- and upper-class voters. Petro’s principal rival is the former mayor of Medellín, Federico Gutiérrez, who received over two million votes in the primaries for the rightwing coalition, Team Colombia. However, there will be a strong challenge from the Right. This could prove tricky given establishment antipathy towards the Left, but it is not insurmountable the Liberal Party exceeded expectations in its congressional vote and Petro has appealed to it in his bid for a broad alliance. Although this was an unprecedented achievement for the Left, it did not translate into a left majority in either House.įor any hope of a progressive agenda coming out of the presidential election, the Historic Pact will need to build alliances with traditional parties. The Historic Pact also made major gains in congressional elections held the same day, winning the most votes at a national level for both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Formed of leftwing and social democratic parties, the Historic Pact has unified diverse political strands and draws its base from sections of the electorate long marginalized from political influence, such as the working class, ethnic minorities, young people and rural communities. His Historic Pact coalition held its election primaries on 13 March with almost six million votes cast – 80 per cent of them for Petro himself. If elected, Petro would become Colombia’s first leftist president. These policies represent an antithesis to the current hard-right government of Iván Duque. The frontrunner for the top job is progressive senator and former mayor of Bogotá Gustavo Petro, who is running on a platform of public health, public education, environmental protection and the promotion of human rights and peace. Whether that door can be pushed open or not will become clear when Colombians head to the polls on 29 May, with the opportunity to make history. Credit: Prensa de Bogotá, under a CC BY-SA 4.0 licenseĪs Colombia gears up for its presidential poll in May, the results of recent elections have shown that the Left has reorganized into a powerful electoral force banging at the door of national governance. Gustavo Petro with family members in 2015. ![]()
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