The citizens of Colombia are called to the polls today to choose who will be their next president, in a ballot that pits the independent populist Rodolfo Hernández against the progressive Gustavo Petro. The first results will be known shortly after the elections close, but until then, none is seen as a clear winner.
Yes Gustavo Petro were to succeed at the polls, it would be the first time that a progressive coalition reaches the Colombian Executive in its entire history. The proposals of the candidate of the Historical Pact front are committed to reforming the South American country to make it more socially just.
One of the emblems of the program Gustavo Petroa 62-year-old economist, is the creation of the National Care System from which it seeks to recognize and reward the care tasks carried out by women.
“The working time that women, for the most part, dedicate to caring for others, will be included in the national accounts to measure the contribution they make to the Colombian economy. Their contribution to the functioning of society will be recognized as work that produces social and economic value, and will be rewarded in the different programs and public policies”, reads the program.
The government formula that they lead Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez also proposes: an agrarian reform that promotes agricultural production in favor of the communities and against the large estates; a tax reform to tax the 4,000 largest fortunes in the country; measures to protect natural resources, and a reform of the controversial Esmad (Mobile Riot Squad), among others.
A little of you history
Gustavo Petro He belonged to the M-19 guerrilla in his youth, although he was more involved in urban liaison tasks than in the armed struggle: his companions maintain that he was a “mediocre combatant.”
Source: (Telesur)
In the 1990s he turned completely to politics and words. It was mayor of Bogotá, deputy and senator. He was even listed as “one of the most brilliant congressmen Colombia had.” In the political arena, he became one of the strongest opposition voices to the right wing led by former President Álvaro Uribe.
Today, Gustavo Petro he prefers to be called “revolutionary” rather than “guerrilla” and, due to the insistence of the Colombian right in bringing him closer to communism, he has to clarify again and again that he is not a socialist but a progressive, that he would not seek re-election and that he would not expropriate private property, among other issues.
As he said before the elections: if he wins, his government will not be from the left, but rather it will be a plural agreement of all of Colombia to advance, once and for all, towards peace. Today, the Colombians will decide if they will accompany him or not.