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BOGOTA, Colombia, Jun 22 (IPS) – On Sunday, 19 June 2022, the hopes of thousands and thousands of Colombians working for a extra democratic, safer, ecological, and socially simply nation got here true.
Senator Gustavo Petro, in a duo together with his Afro-Colombian vice-presidential candidate, environmental skilled Francia Márquez, acquired roughly 50.44 per cent or 11,281,013 of the votes forged, and has been elected the forty second President of Colombia.
Each his predecessor Iván Duque and his opponent Rodolfo Hernández publicly congratulated him on his election victory.
Some 22,445,873 individuals or 57.55 per cent exercised their proper to vote within the run-off election on 19 June 2022, about 3.7 per cent greater than within the first spherical three weeks in the past. Solely in 1998 was the turnout greater.
Getting individuals to the polls shouldn’t be all the time straightforward in Colombia: Hundreds of individuals in some components of the nation once more needed to journey for a number of hours, even days, to achieve one of many polling stations. In some areas, heavy rain additionally prevented individuals from voting. As well as, threats, violence, and vote-buying proceed to limit voting, particularly in distant rural areas.
With Gustavo Petro, the successful streak of leftist actions and events in Latin America continues and gives additional momentum for the upcoming elections in Brazil in October 2022.
Gustavo Petro’s opponents
On this historic scenario for Colombia, what’s going to matter is how the losers behave. On Sunday, Petro not solely relegated his direct challenger, the anti-women and anti-migrant 77-year-old self-made millionaire and populist, Rodolfo Hernández, to second place, however with him additionally the nation’s earlier political elite.
With 47.31 per cent or 10,580,412 votes, Hernández acquired a lot much less help than the polls had predicted.
Nonetheless, considerably extra individuals than within the final elections opted for neither candidate: 490,118 or 2.23 per cent gave a voto blanco.
It is a Colombian peculiarity that enables voters to specific their disagreement with the candidates however, in contrast to abstention, permits them to train their democratic proper.
Exactly as a result of this triumph is so distinctive, President Petro ought to now attain out to his critics, remind the losers of their accountability in state politics and name on the opposition to work constructively. In the meanwhile, it’s unclear whether or not the losers will be capable to settle for their new function.
The army, historically robust in Colombia, additionally stays a key participant on this part of the democratic transition. It’s anticipated that the army management will quickly ship out alerts that go away little doubt about Gustavo Petro’s election victory.
He may even be their commander-in-chief after his inauguration on 7 August. Ought to the popularity fail to materialise publicly, Petro’s presidency can be tainted from the outset and rumours of an imminent coup d’état would proceed to do the rounds. Each Colombian NGOs and the worldwide neighborhood ought to maintain a detailed eye on this.
Six pressing challenges
In any case, the brand new president faces huge challenges. It’s already questionable whether or not Petro will discover a majority within the Colombian parliament for a elementary change of the unequal residing situations, the excessive unemployment, inflation fee, nationwide debt, and the required socio-ecological transformation of the nation.
Though fairly a number of deputies of his left-progressive alliance Pacto Histórico help Petro after the congressional elections in March, he lacks a legislative majority of his personal.
Furthermore, the newly elected representatives should first show that they will stick collectively and likewise lead a authorities collectively, particularly now that the ministers are to be appointed. Tensions are already pre-programmed within the vibrant spectrum of the Pacto Histórico.
The federal government’s most pressing duties embody:
Reviving the peace course of: Within the final 4 years beneath Iván Duque’s ultra-right authorities, the peace course of signed in 2016 with the previous guerrilla group FARC was hardly applied.
President Petro must relaunch it, push for its implementation, and be certain that social and native leaders are higher shielded from displacement, violence, and assassination. This yr alone, greater than 60 of those líderes sociales have been murdered.
After this course of, a dialogue with the guerrilla organisation ELN can be essential too. It’s as much as the brand new authorities to ship out alerts outline situations as as to whether and the way negotiations can happen.
A brand new financial coverage: Petro takes over a rustic with the very best inflation fee of the final 21 years from his unpopular predecessor. With a present debt of round 63 per cent of gross home product (GDP) and a price range deficit of over six per cent, the president-elect has introduced that he’ll start his time period with a structural tax reform.
This envisages a rise within the tax burden for the richest 0.01 per cent of the inhabitants. This concept is vehemently opposed by the political proper. Through the election marketing campaign, they left no stone unturned to discredit Petro, accusing him of making ready the nation’s financial decline.
Dedication to ladies’s rights and better equality: Petro proposes the creation of a Ministry of Equality led by Francia Márquez, which might be answerable for formulating all insurance policies to empower ladies, individuals of all sexual orientations, the completely different generations, and ethnic and regional range in Colombia.
Below Petro, ladies particularly might anticipate to realize precedence entry to public greater schooling, credit score, and the distribution and formalisation of land possession.
Petro and Marquez are proposing an power transition that can rule out new developments of future oil fields.
Land reform and safety of indigenous individuals, peasants, and Afro-Colombian ladies: The extraordinarily unequal distribution of land is among the structural causes of the armed battle in Colombia. The interior displacement of current many years has led to the growth of arable land: the ensuing tensions are on the root of conflicts between ethnic communities (indigenous and Afro-Colombian) and peasant ladies over entry to this land.
All these teams have been and proceed to be excluded from the event of the nation. On the identical time, they’re among the many most affected by the armed battle’s violent dynamics.
Petro’s authorities might want to guarantee a extra equitable distribution that permits the combination of ethnic and farming communities into the manufacturing and growth circuits.
Higher schooling for extra individuals: Through the social protests final yr (and already in 2019 and 2020), the demand for extra public and high quality schooling was one of many central messages of the largely peacefully demonstrating Colombians.
Petro guarantees to supply them with the next schooling system by which public universities and secondary faculties particularly are correctly funded.
Extra environmental safety: Below the Duque authorities, environmental and local weather safety in Colombia was largely uncared for, deforestation elevated, and the primary fracking pilot wells have been authorised. Petro and Marquez have introduced elementary change.
They’re specializing in a extra environmentally-friendly manufacturing and repair mannequin and are proposing an power transition that can rule out new developments of future oil fields. This course of is to be accompanied by a land reform on unproductive lands – largely ensuing from unlawful forest clearance.
A Colombia of social justice
Past these pressing reform duties, the president and his authorities may even have to search out solutions in different vital areas, comparable to built-in safety reform, a diversified new international coverage, a special drug coverage, and on the regulation of narcotics.
On the identical time, they need to not disregard the required coalition with civil society that in the end lifted them into workplace.
Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez achieved one thing historic on that memorable Sunday in June 2022. The expectations for each are large, even perhaps unrealistic. On the one hand, the successful couple should stick collectively and stay able to compromise.
On the identical time, each have raised many hopes and are exemplary for the brand new Colombia: each desire a extra social, a extra ecological, a safer, and a extra democratic republic.
President Petro will make errors and he’ll hardly be granted the standard 100 days grace interval.
The truth that the ultra-conservative and liberal energy elites have been voted out of workplace by nearly all of Colombians is a political turning level for the nation. The losers will hardly settle for the brand new opposition function constructively – and as an vital ingredient of a consolidated democracy.
It’s extra possible that they may torpedo the brand new authorities from day one and do all the pieces they will to make it fail.
President Petro will make errors and he’ll hardly be granted the standard 100 days grace interval – neither by his hopeful supporters from civil society, nor by the greater than ten million individuals he has did not persuade of his programme and particular person.
He should govern overtly, transparently, and with a sure flexibility to have the ability to react appropriately to nationwide and worldwide challenges. He should change his behaviour, which is usually described as boastful and self-centred.
And he ought to emphasise the social workforce spirit that was the idea for the victory of the Pacto Histórico. That’s the solely method he can reach respiratory new life into the peace course of and obtain the urgently wanted reforms in financial and social coverage for Colombia. And he’ll want many allies to succeed, each at house and overseas.
German and European politicians can be properly suggested to pledge their help to the brand new president and strengthen the peace course of alongside the best way. On the identical time, this might contribute to the consolidation of democratic establishments after this historic change of presidency.
Each stay essential for a sustainable, peaceable growth of the nation, and essential for a Colombia of social justice.
Oliver Dalichau heads the workplace of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Colombia.
Supply: Worldwide Politics and Society(IPS)-Journal revealed by the Worldwide Political Evaluation Unit of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Hiroshimastrasse 28, D-10785 Berlin
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