Colombia Voted For Change: Başar Baysal- E. Nur Sezek

The election process in Colombia
ended on June 19, which had been going on for about three months. The second round
of the elections, which is of undeniable importance for the country, resulted in
the victory of Gustavo Petro (president) and Francia Marquez (vice-president),
the candidates of a leftist coalition called Pacto Historico (Historical Pact).
This victory of Petro and Marquez, who stand out with the motto of change, is a
crucial turning point for the country.

2022
Elections in Colombia

2022 has been a year of election
for Colombia. The first elections, the Senate and House, were held in March. In
both the House and Senate elections, Pacto Historico, led by Gustavo Petro and
Francia Marquez, was the group with the highest votes, winning 20 chairs in the
Senate and 28 chairs in the House.1
After
the Senate and House elections, the first round of the presidential elections
was held on May 29. In the first round, Petro ranked first with approximately 8
million votes, with a rate of 40%. On the other hand, 77-year-old businessman Rodolfo
Hernandez, who surprisingly ranked second, got around 5 million votes (28%).2 Thus, these two
candidates competed in the second round.

Petro continued his campaign which
he started before the elections in March, after the first round, and used different
channels, for instance social media, discussion programs such as political
debates, and regional visits to reach the voters. Nevertheless, surprisingly,
Rodolfo Hernandez, who came second in the first round, did not come together
with the voters except for his social media posts and avoided participating in
political discussions. Especially when he turned down requests to participate
in the political debates with Petro, he was presented as a cowardly hiding
“leader.”3 Despite this, he
achieved very close results with Petro in the surveys conducted after the first
round. In such a mixed political environment, the country went to the polls on
the 19^th of June.

Historic
Victory of the Colombian Left

The June 19 elections, which had
the highest participation rate in recent years, with a rate of approximately
58%, resulted in the victory of Pacto Historico led by Gustavo Petro and
Francia Marquez.4 Thus, a left-wing
government came to power for the first time in the country’s nearly 200-year
republican history. In addition, Marquez as a social activist who advocates for
minority groups, victims of violence, feminism, and human rights, will be the
first African-American woman to become the vice president in Colombia. Considering
the diversity in the country, the fact that many different minority groups gain
representation with the vice presidency of Marquez signifies the beginning of a
historical transformation for Colombia.

Background
of the Victory

Gustavo Petro will be Colombia’s
first left-wing president in the country’s history. Colombia has never fully solved
the problem of social and economic inequality since its independence. The
country could not implement a comprehensive rural reform. There had always been
a massive gap between the rich and the poor. The illegal economies like cocaine
trafficking and illegal mining even worsened this situation and have been
feeding the armed groups in Colombia. In addition to these general problems,
Uribism, named after the former right-wing president Alvaro Uribe (2002-2010),
even tipped the balance in favour of the rich.
It also deepened corrupt relations in the country, which included politicians,
bureaucracy, the private sector, and the mafia. After Uribe, Juan Manuel Santos,
who was the defence minister during the Uribe administration, was elected as
the president from the Union Party for the People of which Alvaro Uribe was
also a member until 2012. However, the Santos government did not follow
a strictly Uribist line and initiated a peace process with the FARC. On the
other hand, there was no radical difference in the general political structure
of the country during the Santos era as well. After Santos, the government of
Ivan Duque came to power in 2018 from Alvaro Uribe’s political party,
Democratic Centre, and completely returned to the Uribist line. During Duque’s
presidency, many people criticized him for being a puppet of Uribe and argued whether
the absolute ruler of Colombia was Uribe himself.

During Duque’s rule, the country’s
economy worsened, inequality and poverty increased, and violence and conflict,
which were relatively suppressed during the Santos period, intensified.5 These factors increased
the frustration in Colombian people. Moreover, because of the problems
mentioned above and corrupt relations, there started to emerge an opposition
against Uribism in the country. This triggered the desire for change in
Colombia. In essence, both candidates, Petro and Hernandez, who competed in the
second round of presidential elections, promised to change the Uribist system.
However, the Colombian society showed the strength of its desire for change by
electing Gustavo Petro, a former M-19 guerrilla, as the country’s first leftist
president.

What to expect?

The government, which will assume
power officially on August 7, has economic and social transformation goals in
addition to its policies for almost every segment of society.6 Likewise, the public
has many expectations from the new government. Colombia has proven that it
wants a change with these election results, so the government must work hard to
meet the expectations. As they promised, they will strive to become the
government of the citizens by closing the gap between the rich and the poor while
working on a new robust and productive economy. In this regard, we may expect social
and economic reforms, including restorations in education and health systems. A
more sensitive and active approach in the struggle against climate change is also
very likely in the coming years.

Another expectation is related to implementing
the peace deal with the FARC. Since 2018 there have been many problems in the execution
of the 2016 peace deal, mostly because of the reluctance of the Duque government.
There emerged many issues related to the security of former FARC members,
implementation of Territorially Focused Development Plans (PDET) program, the fight
against illegal drugs, and land reform. In addition to implementing the 2016
peace deal, there is also an expectation that the Petro administration will
make peace with other armed groups like the ELN. These steps will be very
crucial in ending the violence in the country.

As a final remark, we should argue
that the job of President Gustavo Petro will not be easy. First of all,
although Petro became the president, the Colombian left is still the minority
in both houses of the Colombian Parliament. Moreover, it will not be easy for
Petro to break the aforementioned corrupt relations that have been formed over
many decades and ossified under Uribism. Petro will have to put a spoke in wheel
of the beneficiaries of the existing corrupt system. There is no question that
there will be resistance from some interest groups. We believe this term will
also determine the fate of the left in Colombia. People voted for ideals with
high expectations. In the next four years, the performance of Petro will be
decisive in addition to these ideals.

---

To cite this work : Başar Baysal & E. Nur Sezek “ Colombia Voted For Change:The Australian Federal Election result will have an impact on the health of democracy ”, Panorama, Online , 29 June 2022, https://www.uikpanorama.com/blog/2022/06/29/columbia-ele/

---

Copyright@UIKPanorama. All on-line and print rights reserved. Opinions expressed in works published by the Panorama belongs to the authors alone unless otherwise stated, and do not imply endorsement by the IRCT, Global Academy, or the Editors/Editorial Board of Panorama.