MIDWESTERN MARX INSTITUTE
  • Home
  • Online Articles
    • Articles >
      • All
      • News
      • Politics
      • Theory
      • Book Reviews
      • Chinese Philosophy Dialogues
    • American Socialism Travels
    • Youth League
  • Dr. Riggins' Book Series
    • Eurocommunism and the State
    • Debunking Russiagate
    • The Weather Makers
    • Essays on Bertrand Russell and Marxism
    • The Truth Behind Polls
    • Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century
    • Lenin's Materialism & Empirio-Criticism
    • Mao's Life
    • Lenin's State and Rev
    • Lenin's LWC Series
    • Anti-Dühring Series
  • Store
    • Books
    • Merchandise
  • YouTube
  • Journal of American Socialist Studies (JASS)
  • Contact
    • Article Submissions
    • The Marks of Capital
  • Online Library
  • Staff

6/25/2022

The Significance of Petro’s Victory for Colombia & the Region. By: Misión Verdad

0 Comments

Read Now
 
Picture
President-elect Gustavo Petro celebrates victory with his vice presidential running mate, Francia Márquez. Photo: Mauricio Dueñas Castaneda/EFE.
What polls predicted in recent weeks has been fulfilled: Gustavo Petro is the president-elect of Colombia. The Historical Pact (PH) coalition achieved an unprecedented victory for a progressive political formation in a country undermined by the violence of a social and armed conflict spanning several decades.

Alongside Petro, the first Afro-Colombian woman from the working class to reach the vice presidency, Francia Márquez, brought in support from various grassroots sectors, including those that have been historically excluded from the political process.

This political ticket undoubtedly contrasts with the figures who have dominated Colombia’s government during 200 years of its republican history (after the separation from Gran Colombia), as Márquez referred to in her speech this Sunday, June 19.

In the first electoral round, on May 29, PH obtained 8.53 million votes (40.3% of the total). In the second round, this rose to 11.3 million (50.4%), an increase of about 2.75 million in its favor.

The League of Anticorruption Governors (LIGA) party, led by Rodolfo Hernández and Marelen Castillo, received 5.95 million votes in the first round (28.2% of the total). For the second round, this rose by 4.63 million to reach 10.58 million (47.3%).

The support of other candidates who did not advance to the second round was significant for Hernández and Castillo, yet was insufficient to reverse a very clear trend in favor of PH.

It should be noted that Uribismo in its entirety did not come out to vote in favor of LIGA, if we take into account that the Federico Gutiérrez-Rodrigo Lara duo had achieved 5.58 million votes in the first round. The apparent abstention by supporters of the Democratic Center and other parties allied with Uribismo paved the way for the victory of Petro and Márquez.

Voter turnout was 54.9% in the first round and 58.1% in the second.

PH strengthened its support while the Colombian establishment media, such as Revista Semana, clearly tried to cover the presidential campaign in a manner biased against Petro and Márquez.

#ExguerrilleroOIngeniero | Después de una larga campaña política, Colombia elegirá este domingo al nuevo presidente en una segunda vuelta de infarto que protagonizan Gustavo Petro y Rodolfo Hernández. ¿Cuál es el que más le conviene al país? https://t.co/fDUxuXzGK8 pic.twitter.com/TiYkQLFDe9

— Revista Semana (@RevistaSemana) June 19, 2022

Periphery and polarization

Another important fact to highlight lies in the high PH vote in the departments of the Pacific, the poorest areas of Colombia, where the population is victimized of a greater degree of narco-paramilitary violence, and where the “armed strike” of the Clan del Golfo occurred in early May.

In Chocó, PH received 81.9% of the vote, in Valle del Cauca 63.9%, in Cauca 79%, in Nariño 80.9%, in Putumayo 79.7%, and in Amazonas 54.6%.
​
In the departments of northern Colombia (Córdoba, Sucre, Bolívar, Atlántico, Magdalena, and La Guajira), PH obtained more than 60% of the votes, except in Cesar, where it received 53%. PH also achieved a high number of votes in Vaupés (74%) and Guainía (52.5%), in the southeast of the country. In Bogotá, it obtained 58.6%.
Picture
Map of Colombia according to the votes of the second presidential round (Photo: El País)
The image above is clear: where the Colombian right and extreme right have dominated, PH’s candidates did not make a dent, but there was great support for PH where social and armed conflict and criminal economies prevail, except in Antioquia, Arauca, Norte de Santander, Caquetá, and Guaviare.

This in itself reveals a polarized political landscape, which will lead to challenges due, in addition, to a fragmented Congress, in which PH will seek to seal alliances built during the electoral campaign.
​
Social and economic programs that PH intends to apply will most likely be counteracted by a parliament in which politicians of the traditional Colombian establishment stand out, affected by ideology as well as oligarchic and Uribista interests.

This polarization is only increased by the narratives deployed by hegemonic local media and the propaganda apparatus, which had already chosen their sides prior to the campaign—they had backed the opposition.

​Petro-Márquez’s policies regarding historic violence and insecurity, tax issues, and the productive economy, among other issues, will be presented in a controversial light by the media and debated loudly in Congress, because the proposals of PH differ critically from government actions during the last two decades of Uribismo.

A crucial issue is that of compliance with the peace agreements signed in 2016, sabotaged by the presidency of Iván Duque and his political and media acolytes. In addition, the proposal to hold talks to end the armed conflict with the National Liberation Army (ELN), the main active guerrilla group, would complete a cycle of aspirations for peace and security that the opposing sides will not want to see resolved.

According to a report by the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation (Fundación Paz y Reconciliación, or PARES), 37% of Colombia is affected by the presence of armed groups, both guerrillas and narco-paramilitaries. Due to the “strengthening” and “expansion” of this in the last four years of the Uribista government, the challenge regarding peace and security in Colombia is of historical dimensions, after seven decades of conflict supported by the state.

In his speech as president-elect, Gustavo Petro emphasized a desire to carry out a “great national agreement” with various sectors to achieve significant progress in the social, economic, political, and environmental proposals of PH. In addition, he invited his political opponents to dialogue with PH. Medium and long-term reactions of his opponents remain to be seen.

International relations and the South American landscape

Petro had announced in advance that his government would resume relations with Venezuela, broken since 2019, in the diplomatic and commercial fields.

The initiative must come from the Casa de Nariño [the seat of Colombia’s presidency], since the government of Iván Duque destroyed all cooperation with Miraflores Palace due to Colombia’s support for the United States’ “Guaidó Project.”

Bogotá has been accused on multiple occasions of having collaborated in regime-change operations against the government of Nicolás Maduro, including the so-called Battle of the Bridges in 2019, and Operation Gideon in 2020. In addition, Colombian territory has served as a refuge and conspiracy headquarters for fugitives from Venezuelan justice escaping crimes related to politics, economy, and security, such as Julio Borges.

Therefore, PH has an immediate task that would change the way in which Colombia carries out its international relations.

However, the fact that Colombia has close ties with the foreign and military policy of the United States is not compatible with the high expectations held by some progressive sectors in Our America, regarding the new Colombian presidency. Although Petro and Márquez represent a left welcomed by other South American personalities of the same political-ideological tendency, such as Lula da Silva (Brazil), Luis Arce (Bolivia), and Xiomara Castro (Honduras), polarization and challenges to the governability of Colombia play a preponderant political role that cannot be underestimated.

The economic-financial-commercial, military, and geopolitical agreements between Bogotá and Washington cannot be damaged without there being a significant shakeup by the coming Petro administration, especially considering that Colombia is a NATO “global partner”—not to mention the interests of local groups that are openly in favor of good relations between the United States and Colombia.
​
The steps that the new administration will take regarding relations with Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela will be the turning point (if there is to be one) regarding PH’s foreign policy, in a scenario where it is intended to politically and ideologically isolate the core countries of ALBA-TCP, CELAC, and UNASUR as a different left (“the troika of tyranny,” as they were baptized by US warmonger John Bolton), distinct from the “new progressivism” represented by Alberto Fernández, Gabriel Boric and Gustavo Petro himself.

Author

​Misión Verdad is a Venezuelan investigative journalism website with a socialist perspective in defense of the Bolivarian Revolution


This article was republished from Orinoco Tribune.  Translated by Orinoco Tribune.

Archives

June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020

Share

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

Details

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020

    Categories

    All
    Aesthetics
    Afghanistan
    Althusser
    American Civil War
    American Socialism
    American Socialism Travels
    Anti Imperialism
    Anti-Imperialism
    Art
    August Willich
    Berlin Wall
    Bolivia
    Book Review
    Brazil
    Capitalism
    Censorship
    Chile
    China
    Chinese Philosophy Dialogue
    Christianity
    CIA
    Class
    Climate Change
    COINTELPRO
    Communism
    Confucius
    Cuba
    Debunking Russiagate
    Democracy
    Democrats
    DPRK
    Eco Socialism
    Ecuador
    Egypt
    Elections
    Engels
    Eurocommunism
    Feminism
    Frederick Douglass
    Germany
    Ghandi
    Global Capitalism
    Gramsci
    History
    Hunger
    Immigration
    Imperialism
    Incarceration
    Interview
    Joe Biden
    Labor
    Labour
    Lenin
    Liberalism
    Lincoln
    Linke
    Literature
    Lula Da Silva
    Malcolm X
    Mao
    Marx
    Marxism
    May Day
    Media
    Medicare For All
    Mencius
    Militarism
    MKULTRA
    Mozi
    National Affairs
    Nelson Mandela
    Neoliberalism
    New Left
    News
    Nina Turner
    Novel
    Palestine
    Pandemic
    Paris Commune
    Pentagon
    Peru Libre
    Phillip-bonosky
    Philosophy
    Political-economy
    Politics
    Pol Pot
    Proletarian
    Putin
    Race
    Religion
    Russia
    Settlercolonialism
    Slavery
    Slavoj-zizek
    Slavoj-zizek
    Social-democracy
    Socialism
    South-africa
    Soviet-union
    Summer-2020-protests
    Syria
    Theory
    The-weather-makers
    Trump
    Venezuela
    War-on-drugs
    Whatistobedone...now...likenow-now
    Wilfrid-sellers
    Worker-cooperatives
    Xunzi

All ORIGINAL Midwestern Marx content is under Creative Commons
(CC BY-ND 4.0) which means you can republish our work only if it is attributed properly (link the original publication to the republication) and not modified. 
Proudly powered by Weebly
Photos from U.S. Secretary of Defense, ben.kaden
  • Home
  • Online Articles
    • Articles >
      • All
      • News
      • Politics
      • Theory
      • Book Reviews
      • Chinese Philosophy Dialogues
    • American Socialism Travels
    • Youth League
  • Dr. Riggins' Book Series
    • Eurocommunism and the State
    • Debunking Russiagate
    • The Weather Makers
    • Essays on Bertrand Russell and Marxism
    • The Truth Behind Polls
    • Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century
    • Lenin's Materialism & Empirio-Criticism
    • Mao's Life
    • Lenin's State and Rev
    • Lenin's LWC Series
    • Anti-Dühring Series
  • Store
    • Books
    • Merchandise
  • YouTube
  • Journal of American Socialist Studies (JASS)
  • Contact
    • Article Submissions
    • The Marks of Capital
  • Online Library
  • Staff