How Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla, might govern Colombia
An election puts a radical leftist in the presidential palace
“We are writing a new history for Colombia, Latin America and the world,” declared Gustavo Petro, the winner of Colombia’s presidential election, in Bogotá on June 19th. His grandiloquence was perhaps understandable. When he takes office on August 7th Mr Petro will become the country’s first left-wing president. He offers a radical departure from a century of right-wing and centrist rule. Mr Petro’s running-mate, Francia Márquez, an environmental activist, will be the country’s first black vice-president.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Petrofied”
From the June 25th 2022 edition
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