On Sunday, Leftist Gustavo Petro, a former leader of the M-19 guerrilla force, won Colombia’s presidential elections. He had promised that he would bring about social and economic revolution.
Petro is the first progressive to accomplish this accomplishment in the country’s history. Petro, a 62-year-old former mayor of Bogota, defeated construction billionaire Rodolfo Hernandez by a large majority of 719,975 votes.
Technically, the two were deadlocked in polling conducted prior to the election. Petro received 50.5 percent of the vote, with Hernandez receiving 47.3 percent.
‘As I indicated during the campaign, I accept the results of this election,’ Hernandez said in a short video posted on social media.
Petro, who is now a senator, has promised to combat inequity through pension reforms, free university education, and heavy taxes on unproductive land. He also intends to impose a moratorium on new oil developments.
When Petro was captured for his association with the insurgents, he appears to have been tortured by the military.
Francia Marquez, Petro’s running mate, will be the country’s first Afro-Colombian female vice president. She is a former housekeeper and a single mother.
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