The discourse and the development of the Colombian electoral campaign have placed ancestral dramas of the neighboring country on the table. The urgency of producing changes in many areas has been highlighted, but mainly in social needs, in the imperative of achieving economic solutions aimed at overcoming the inequalities that have punished the country for decades.
Without going ahead to qualify the Colombian electoral success or failure, the data show a winner with a good academic background and extensive political and government experience. Although its ministerial train is not yet known, the closest team for the preparation of its work plan and campaign strategy was made up of trained people, open to dialogue and conciliation, backed by their professional experience and a manifest will to change depending on the people.
Well equipped to understand reality and to interpret both the frustration and the aspirations of the people, the president-elect seems to be aware of the difficulties, the conflicting interests, the fragility of support, the effect of changes in politics and the economy, from the vulnerability of public opinion. The potential ministers being considered are seen as reliable, with training and experience in all areas, both economic and social, with a vision that places education as a priority and a permanent goal.
Gustavo Petro’s electoral offer has also been well received by deep Colombia. The redefinition of the role of the State as that of citizen participation and the appreciation of private initiative and investment as conditions for growth have been axes in the discussion of programs and in the establishment of commitments.
But beyond the socio-political theses and the offers loaded with populism that are typical of all the candidates in all the electoral processes, the now-elected president has to go through the ordeal of activating solutions that meet the daily needs in the midst of of a threatening and unstable international environment. A dramatic reality is the fact that Colombia, after the pandemic, ranks as the second most unequal country in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the World Bank, and that an additional 3.6 million Colombians joined the ranks of the poverty
The tiredness of the peoples of Latin America in the face of the flagrant injustice of inequality is increasingly expressed through revolt and violence. The Colombian country has been a victim of this throughout the first half of 2022. The lack of immediate relief from economic hardship can lead the country to ungovernability.
For this reason, the new administration must use the best of its ingenuity and Gustavo Petro must capitalize on the popular support he enjoys to design a balanced critical path that puts the country’s potential at the service of economic growth, redistribution of well-being and pacification. of the country, while strengthening democratic institutions.
Luis Ugalde maintains ─and it is time to quote him─ that no ruler will be able to overcome poverty and achieve growth if he does not go beyond political labels and combine economic liberalism with social inclusion. Ugalde calls it “the left and right myopia.”
These elections made it clear that Colombia desperately faces a yearning for change. Hopefully their new leader knows more about building than demolishing, offers a credible and achievable proposal and commits the best and the majority with those proposals.
