First modification:
Tension and expectations rise in Colombia before the second electoral round to choose the new president of the Nation. Colombians will have to choose between Gustavo Petro, who could be the first leftist president in the country’s history, and Rodolfo Hernández, an independent candidate obsessed with fighting corruption; a very particular political and social scenario for this election date. Whoever wins, a new political era will begin in the country.
Gustavo Petro heads a coalition of leftist parties. He was a member of the House of Representatives and representative to the House for Bogotá; he was also a senator, mayor of Bogotá, the country’s capital, and a presidential candidate in 2010, 2018 and now in 2022. He is a traditional and controversial politician who has not escaped scandal, but who is determined to reach the House of Narino.
Among his proposals is an agrarian reform to increase agricultural production; greater care of the territory; exploitations such as fraking would be eliminated and it would try to give more care to the country’s biodiversity; equality for women and vulnerable populations; dismantling of the ESMAD, the Colombian riot police; supports the end of compulsory military service and proposes the prevalence of civil authorities over military ones; implementation of the Peace Agreement and public and free higher education.
On the other side is Rodolfo Hernández, who does not represent a traditional politician, is not part of Colombia’s historical parties or coalitions, and his way of expressing himself and addressing the media breaks with the formality that Colombian heads of state have maintained. .
Hernández does not have extensive experience as a politician, but he does have it executing and managing. As an engineer by training, he dedicated himself to affordable housing construction projects for nearly two decades. Later he jumped into the political arena and was elected mayor of Bucaramanga, the capital of the department of Santander.
Among his proposals is to end corruption, his main campaign banner; modify prisons; reduction of the State; promote education through credits; reduce VAT to 10% and promote a national rural housing program.
In this edition of El Debate we analyze the panorama in Colombia prior to the second presidential round. For this we talk with our guests:
– Patricia Muñoz Yi, director of postgraduate courses in political science at the Faculty of Political Science and International Relations of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia.
– Andrés Segura, public affairs consultant.
#Debate #Colombia #expectations #grow #presidential #Petro #Hernández