His face hasn’t really changed. And his voice, his phrasing, his intelligence are still just as lively. At 60, Ingrid Betancourt has retained all her presence. However, two decades have passed since his last presidential candidacy interrupted by his kidnapping on February 23, 2002. And followed by six and a half years of green hell in the Amazon jungle, at the hands of the most cruel guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).
A popularity comparable to that of… Anne Hidalgo
After eight years of exile in France, a divorce and a bestselling book, Even the silence has an end (Gallimard, 2010), the ex-hostage returned to his native country six years ago. Still driven by a passion for politics, the Franco-Colombian announced on January 18 that she wanted to help the Center – the third political force in the country – to win the presidential elections on May 29 and June 19. But two weeks later, a dramatic turn of events! “Ingrid” decides to go it alone. The candidate then positions herself against the traditional parties… which prevents her from participating in the primaries organized in mid-March in each camp: the Coalition Center Espérance (center), the Historical Pact (left) and the Team for Colombia ( right).
Left-wing Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro (r) introduces vice-presidential candidate Francia Marquez in Bogota, March 23, 2022
afp.com/Juan BARRETO
From these primaries two favorites stand out: the former mayor of Bogota Gustavo Petro, who was a guerrilla within the M-19 from the end of the 1970s until the dissolution of the movement in 1990 and, on the right, Federico Gutiérrez, the former mayor of Medellin (2016-2019), the very dynamic economic metropolis. According to the polls, Petro would obtain 36.5% of the votes in the first round and Gutiérrez, 24.5%. Ingrid Betancourt, she caps at 1.5%, the same figure as at the time of her kidnapping in the middle of the presidential campaign, twenty years ago. A figure comparable, too, to that of the candidate Anne Hidalgo in France …
“His choice not to participate in the primaries last month is hampering his candidacy”, analyzes Patricia Muñoz Yi, political scientist at Javeriana University in Bogota. Far from being discouraged, the candidate goes on to debates, interviews and press conferences. She also resuscitated her Verde Oxigeno party, which already supported her candidacy in 2002. The only problem: her speech is empty.
“Our economy is a bottomless barrel”, exposes for example the candidate, presenting her plan to fight against corruption, at the heart of her program. “A substantial part of what we earn goes directly into the pocket of the corrupt,” she asserts, targeting the traditional parties which are “political machines”.
Excerpt from a 22-minute video released in February 2003: this is Ingrid Betancourt’s first ‘proof of life’. We will have to wait until December 2007 for the next one.
AFP
It’s not false. But Colombians have other priorities in mind such as security, access to housing, health and purchasing power. During the Covid-19 pandemic, poverty and precariousness have increased and today the unemployment rate is almost 13%. “Ingrid Betancourt’s speech is outdated, continues Patricia Muñoz Yi. She is content with platitudes on corruption; says that it must be fought but does not specify how.”
Above all, the argument that she is the only off-system personality falls flat. “She was a member of the House of Representatives from 1994 to 1998 and a senator from 1998 to 2002,” recalls Patricia Muñoz Yi, for whom the candidate “fails to embody what she claims in her speech.”
After his release. Former Franco-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt waves on her arrival at Bogota airport on Wednesday July 2.
AFP PHOTO/Rodrigo Arangua
According to some, his disconnection is explained by his too long absence from Colombia – almost a decade. “She ignores the most significant issues in the country,” says Nicolas Umaña, a former diplomat in Paris now head of the political communication agency Crop. I deeply respect her for what she experienced in captivity, but Colombia has millions of victims… And Ingrid is just one of them.” And to conclude: “She has no chance to pass the first round.
Once fiery and idealistic, Ingrid Betancourt does not convince young people any more. “Faced with the economic crisis or the lack of social rights, it does not bring concrete proposals”, regrets Sandrine, 24, engaged in social movements. This Colombian of Haitian origin adds: “Even if it is a woman, I do not recognize myself in her candidacy.” We cannot be and have been.