Colombia's First Round Presidential Elections - Not Enough for Change
Manage episode 448547606 series 3613025
In this episode we discuss the recent elections in Colombia, where the leftist coalition called the Pacto Historico received over 40% of the vote, the most in the country’s history.
Colombia has historically been a bastion of ultra-conservatism and remains a staunch ally of the United States - Biden recently assigned Colombia as a Major non-NATO military ally. Colombia has been by far the most dangerous country for trade unionists and social leaders. So far this year there have been at least 80 social and community leaders killed in the last 6 months. The victory of the Pacto Historico in the first round is no small feat given the political context of the past few decades. Now, the Pacto Historico represented by former guerrilla Gustavo Petro and environmental activist Francia Marquez will face a far-right candidate, running as an independent named Rodolfo Henandez, who has risen in the past few months with a populist anti-corruption and Trump-like rhetoric that may prove to be a new face of the right in Colombia.
I'm joined by Jessica Garcia and Barbara Orozco Diaz to discuss the significance of the recent election results.
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