“In 1948, that same procedure caused the assassination of the great liberal leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán. The people inflamed by the crime destroyed all the public buildings in Bogotá and there were thousands of deaths, in a spontaneous and cruel popular revolution”, he recounted.
“Today’s triumph may be the end of that curse and the dawn for that brotherly and worthy people. Congratulations,” he added.
Gabriel García Márquez wrote that his friend Wilfrido Mathieu warned him of what had happened and said: “This country was screwed.”
Today’s triumph may be the end of that curse and the dawn for that brotherly and worthy people. Congratulations. 3/3
– Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_)
June 19, 2022
The leftist Gustavo Petro, who promises profound social changes and a new economic model, won the presidency of Colombia in the second round this Sunday, according to the preliminary count of the National Registry.
Today is a holiday for the people. Let him celebrate the first popular victory. May so many sufferings be cushioned in the joy that today floods the heart of the Homeland.
This victory for God and for the People and their history. Today is the day of the streets and squares.
– Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo)
June 19, 2022
The candidate of the leftist Historical Pact, a 62-year-old economist who was a senator, mayor of Bogotá and belonged to the demobilized M-19 guerrilla, obtained 50.69% of the votes, beating the eccentric construction businessman Rodolfo Hernández, who reached 47.04%, according to 94.57% of the tables counted by the electoral authority.
It is the first time in the history of the South American country that a left-wing politician is elected president, breaking a tradition of right-wing and center-right rulers.
Petro will replace the current president Iván Duque from August 7 with the challenge of uniting a country of 50 million inhabitants divided for political reasons.
-With information from Reuters.
