The possibility of a debate between Petro and Hernández seems to be unlocking

The possibility that the two candidates for the Presidency of Colombia debate face to face before the ballot on Sunday seemed to be unlocked this Thursday after the left-wing senator Gustavo Petro accepted conditions from his right-wing populist rival Rodolfo Hernández, although the decision remains to be defined. day and time of the meeting. In a statement addressed to Petro, former mayor of Bogota, his adversary Hernández, from the League of Governors party, requested a series of conditions to attend, including that the discussion be in Bucaramanga -city of which he was mayor-, for security reasons-, a grid of 20 songs and that does not exceed 60 minutes. “Petro: you got up early to say that you were ready for the debate, but true to your style you omitted to specify how, when, where, with whom, for what and a thousand details that have to be foreseen. I am also ready to debate as I have been for more than 50 years when I decided to build homes, create jobs, pay taxes and not live like a professional bureaucrat,” the League candidate said in his text. In his thematic list, he included the so-called “Petrovideos” -videos leaked to the press of the team of advisers to the former Bogota mayor planning the campaign-, the willingness to accept the results of the elections and the abusive use of resources from the budget for the campaigns, and even asked that the expenses of the transmission be paid by his rival from the Historical Pact party. In addition, with both candidates head to head in voting intention, Hernández asked Petro to pay for the trip of the six “guardians”, the leaders who filed an appeal before the Justice to force the debate. “It is up to you to pay your guardians the travel expenses and other expenses because they, the SIX, must attend, yes or yes, because otherwise we would be in contempt for serious violation of their fundamental right that served as the basis for the magistrates that the majority adopted the decision”, indicated the candidate, in a text with some load of sarcasm. Hernández went even further and proposed the names of three female journalists and “three other male journalists who are chosen by mutual agreement” to lead and demanded at least 5 minutes for questions. Petro said that he accepted the conditions, although later he published a letter in which he asked that the public media system choose the characteristics of the meeting. “I do not put conditions on this debate. None. I leave all the details of the debate in the hands of the RTVC Public Media System: from the moderators to the topics, including of course those you raise,” he replied. Petro’s text regrets the “provocative” letter from Hernández, to whom he makes it clear that “he does not accept the debate, but they force him.” “You say you accept the debate. Is not true. You make fun of Justice, of the media, of Colombians by wanting to impose certain conditions. It doesn’t matter,” remarks the former mayor of Bogotá. Finally, the letter warns that Hernández’s “contempt” for “the most minimal democratic norms is total and revealing” and closes with a commitment: “See you in Bucaramanga, of course.” With this crossing, it does not seem certain that the debate will take place, although the chance is closer than yesterday, when the Supreme Court of Bogotá ordered it to be held and Hernández said that he would not participate. Furthermore, the National Electoral Council (CNE) said today that it is not mandatory for presidential candidates to participate in a debate, but rather that the law only establishes the right to do so. The clarification was in response to the request filed with the Justice by former congresswoman Ángela María Robledo, who had assured that Hernández “violated the electoral guarantees” of citizens by refusing to debate with his rival. “The rule does not impose on candidates the obligation to carry out electoral debates, but rather makes it possible to do so, presenting the respective joint request to the media system, with all the foreseen requirements”, says resolution 3135 of 2022 issued by the highest electoral body. The CNE explained that the candidates – who won the chance to be in the ballot in the elections on May 29 – can use spaces on RTVC to publicize their eventual government plans, and if they wish to hold a debate there, they must make “a joint request”, added the electoral body.The Superior Court of Bogotá had granted a guardianship filed by other citizens and demanded that the candidates have to organize and attend a debate. As the intention polls show a marked parity between both candidates, the possibility of a televised meeting acquires greater dimension, also, in part, because Hernández was not in any of the several debates that took place before the first round.