Six hopeful candidates face each other in the first round. At the center are the two main candidates, Gustavo Petro and Federico Gutiérrez – two former mayors on opposite sides of the political spectrum.
A big favorite when Colombians go to the polls is the left-wing candidate Petro, mayor of Bogotá 2012–2015 and self-proclaimed fighter for the indigenous people and other vulnerable people.
In 2018, he lost the election to the now resigning conservative Iván Duque. Petro’s opponents portray the 62-year-old father of six as a radical populist and potential despot who will drive the country to an economic collapse, not unlike the one in neighboring Venezuela.
Included in guerrilla group
But that rhetoric has not bitten. In a primary election in March, he received more than twice as many votes as his main rival, the man of the right and the political establishment, Federico Gutiérrez. According to opinion polls, he can get around 40 percent; a bit from the 50 percent required to win already in the first round of elections but also far ahead of Gutiérrez, who looks to land at 25 percent.
In this way, Petro can tear down the wall that has so far stood in the way of left-wing candidates in the country, largely because they were considered – or accused of – being too close to the left-wing guerrillas who have been fighting the military for decades.
Gustavo Petro himself has a background as a member of a guerrilla group, M-19, which he joined as a teenager. He claims to have been tortured by the military in the 1980s before being imprisoned for two years.
Federico Gutiérrez, for his part, is a former mayor of Medellín and has run for office as a “common sense” candidate, focusing on combating violence in the country.
Populist challenges
As mayor, the 47-year-old was very popular, but he has also been criticized for using several million who would have gone to an anti-violence campaign to market himself instead.
One of the other four candidates who could threaten the favorite duo is Rodolfo Hernández, a 77-year-old businessman who, with a populist campaign focusing on fighting corruption, has steadily climbed in opinion polls.
If no candidate receives more than half of the votes, the two candidates with the greatest support will advance to a second round, on 19 June.