Colombia: right-wing closes ranks to stop Gustavo Petro in presidential race

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The right-wing in Colombia started to line up to face leftist Gustavo Petro in the presidential race. The ruling party candidate Oscar Iván Zuluaga resigned his aspiration this Monday to join that of former mayor Federico Gutiérrez after Sunday’s electoral setback.

When the results of last Sunday’s elections in Colombia were known, where the leftist Gustavo Petro swept as favorite in the consultation of parties with more than 4 million votes, alliances began to move in the political sphere.

The following day, the ruling Democratic Center party candidate, Oscar Iban Zuluaga, published a video in which he announced his resignation as a candidate and instead said he would accompany Federico Gutiérrez, winner of the consultation of right-wing parties with 2 million votes.

For the political scientist and professor at the Universidad del Rosario, Yann Basset, this political movement was to be expected after the historical results of the left and the punishment at the polls to the ruling party.

“I believe that the right is very aware after Sunday’s results that Gustavo Petro is the election favorite,” Basset told RFI.

“The right is going to try to unite around a candidacy. Federico Gutierrez appears as the right-wing candidate most in a position to face the other candidates, particularly Gustavo Petro. Therefore, there is a natural movement of union behind him. In the case of the Democratic Center, it was taken for granted, given that the outgoing party does not have many possibilities. The government (of Iván Duque) is very unpopular,” commented the academic.

Sandra Borda (Nuevo Liberalismo party), professor of political science at the Universidad de los Andes and former Senate candidate, agrees with Basset that the ruling Democratic Center feels weakened. “I think they are trying to add the winning candidate of the right because they know perfectly well that they will not be able to constitute a political alternative on their own”, she explained.

Gustavo Petro’s high results at the polls are considered historic since Colombia has never had a leftist president. This political current has been stigmatized and associated with the country’s armed conflict.

According to analysts, the former mayor of Bogotá and current senator has real possibilities of being elected President of Colombia, and the only option for the country’s right-wing to unite to stop his eventual triumph is to unite.

With RFI information