The former mayor of Bogota vowed to unite the country
Gustavo Petro in Bogota, Colombia, June 19, 2022. © Robert Bonet / NurPhoto / Getty Images
Gustavo Petro won the presidential election in Colombia on Sunday. He will become the nation’s first left-wing leader.
A senator and former mayor of Bogota, Petro won over 50% of the votes in a runoff, beating construction magnate Rodolfo Hernandez, who conceded defeat.
“Today is a day of celebration for the people. Let them celebrate the first popular victory,” Petro wrote on Twitter shortly after the results were finalized. He later took the stage in the capital and thanked his supporters.
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“This story that we are writing today is a new story for Colombia, for Latin America, for the world. We are not going to betray this electorate,” he said.
The president-elect added that he wants to reach across the aisle to work to unite the country. “We want Colombia, in the midst of its diversity, to be one Colombia, not two Colombias.”
Colombia has been plagued by decades of a leftist insurgency and economic troubles. Petro himself joined urban guerilla group M-19 at the age of 17, but insisted later that he was an organizer, never a fighter, according to AFP.
Petro’s victory was hailed by other leftist leaders in the region, including the presidents of Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Cuba, and Honduras.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Petro, saying Washington is ready to work with his government to build “a more democratic and equitable hemisphere.”
Petro will assume the presidency on August 7.
