For the first time in its state history, Colombia will have a former guerrilla as its president. Today, former M-19 fighter Gustavo Petro was elected President of Colombia with 50% of the vote, defeating construction sector oligarch Rodolfo Hernández who fell short at 47%. Petro joined the anti-imperialist 19th of April Movement (M-19) in the late 1970s and was arrested by the army in 1985, subsequently spending 18 months in prison.
With three decades experience as a representative, mayor, and senator, Petro ran against Ivan Marquez in 2018 but lost by a 12% margin. He pledges to combat private banking, end anti-indigenous corporate expansionism, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, make public college free, and restore diplomatic relations with Venezuela. Petro’s running mate Francia Márquez will become Colombia’s first black vice president.
The election of Petro comes following decades of severe wealth divide sustained by consecutive pro-oligarchy and US-backed administrations in Colombia. Whether Petro will effectively confront these structures or run a complacent administration perceived by anti-capitalists as reformist remains to be seen. Some in the Latin American left fear that Petro may have the same shortfalls as new Chilean socialist president Gabriel Boric, who some perceive to be excessively conciliatory and indifferent to state hegemony. The Latin American capitalist bloc, on the other hand, find Petro to be closely reminiscent of Hugo Chavez and fear he will make the economy hostile to corporations.
