Leftist Gustavo Petro wins Colombia’s presidential election
Baku, June 20, AZERTAC
Former guerrilla member Gustavo Petro was elected Colombia’s president Sunday in a historic victory for the left in Latin America, according to Anadolu Agency.
With almost 99% of the vote counted, Petro won 50% compared with 47% for his opponent, Rodolfo Hernandez, according to figures published by Colombia´s electoral authority.
For months now, Petro has been touring Colombia, advocating change in a country that has recently seen its population rise up in protest against poverty, inequality and a lack of opportunity.
Petro, a 62-year-old legislator, was a member of the M-19 guerrilla group, which demobilized in the early 1990s. He later became a senator and the mayor of Colombia’s capital, Bogota. In his third attempt for the presidency, he has been promising to redistribute the country’s pension system and end oil extraction.
Voters are pinning their hopes on Petro and Francia Marquez, who has become the country’s first Black female vice president, to bring about change.
Petro received the results of the presidential election at one of the largest indoor stadiums and event centers in the country, where he will speak in front of hundreds of people following his win.
Although Petro obtained 40% of the vote against 28% for Hernandez in the first electoral round, recent polls showed that the candidates were neck and neck competing for every single vote until the very last moment.
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