Left-wing candidate Gustavo Petro wins Colombia’s presidential election. After counting 97 percent of the ballots on Sunday, Petro was ahead of builder Rodolfo Hernandez with 50.6 percent, who had 47.1 percent of the vote. This was announced by the Colombian electoral authorities. “Today is a celebration for the people,” Petro wrote on Twitter. “Let them celebrate the first victory of the people.”
Among other things, the ex-guerrilla Petro wants to increase import duties, levy higher taxes on the rich and get out of oil and coal production. During the election campaign, Hernandez promised a crackdown on corruption and waste.
The fact that two anti-establishment candidates made it into the run-off election despite good economic data in the country is a sign that Colombians want a departure from the traditional style of politics of the past few decades. The result is also likely to shake the country’s close ties with the United States. “Things will not be the same again,” said Mauricio Cardenas, a former Colombian finance minister who is now an advisor to bank Goldman Sachs Group. “We have two outsiders here, people who are not part of the system.” Regardless of the winner, this election will mark “a turning point,” he added.