Once the pre-count of the votes for the presidential elections this Sunday, May 29, was completed, it was confirmed that the candidates Gustavo Petro for him Historical Pact with 8,520,444 votes (40.34%) and Rodolfo Hernández, of the Anti-Corruption League, with 5,950,301 (28.17%).
These results are surprising, since the polls indicated that the two candidates who had the greatest voting intentions were Petro and Fico Gutiérrez, from the Team for Colombia coalition. However, what happened with the former mayor of Medellín it was the big surprise getting 5,043,940 votes (23.88%) and staying out of the second round.
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With the great surprise of Rodolfo Hernández in the second round, many Colombians begin to wonder about the engineer’s proposals regarding current issues in the country, such as oil exploration and exploitation, as well as fracking.
Looking at Hernández’s government program, he makes it clear that he knows the importance of oil in the national economy, although he refers to the need for the energy transition. “Colombia is a great unexploited or poorly exploited reserve of mineral-energy resources. But given the environmental situation that the world is going through, considering living from the exploitation of oil, coal and gas as the main source of income is not the best of alternatives.”
Although he says that oil cannot be depended on, he is emphatic in saying that it should be seek a balance and not end this industry, which he considers should be friendly to the environment and the communities.
“You can consider reaching a balance in the exploitation that cares for the environment, generates social development and serves to plan a transition towards the production of other forms of clean energy and better practices in the exploitation of mining resources. It is necessary to take care that the forms of artisanal mining exploitation do not threaten the environment, nor become a criminal exercise that could constitute new sources of violence and job insecurity From this perspective, it is imperative to technically control the exploitation of these resources and exercise surveillance and control both both in production and in the declaration of the extracted material”, says the engineer’s program.
In that sense, the only Two specific proposals in his government program regarding these current issues are: “Invest in efforts for the production of alternative energies in the face of the imminent lack of oil and gas in the next decade, if only the figures of proven reserves are taken, which is the most sensible thing to do.”
Secondly, it seeks to “promote changes planned for 2030 to achieve energy self-sufficiency, increasing the level of oil and gas reserves, through an expanded process of new explorations“. That is, unlike Petro, it does support new exploration.
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However, in the engineer’s program it does not refer to fracking specifically. On this issue, which always causes controversy at the national level, Hernández has made some pronouncements that have been contradictory.
“Do not be fooled. I do NOT support Fracking or Glyphosate. And I DO support the legalization of medical marijuana and the right to abortion under the stipulated conditions. Make no mistake,” he wrote. Hernández when it was said in networks that he supported fracking.
Despite this forceful statement, he previously said in an interview with El Tiempo assured that it is necessary to do fracking pilots.
