With the upcoming presidential election in Colombia, the coffee-producing South American country is increasingly divided, as evidenced by the results of the first round of elections on May 29.
That was when the left-wing candidate Gustavo Petro, 62, a former mayor of Bogota and a former guerrilla, won 40% of the vote. He will be challenged by engineer Rodolfo Hernández, 77, a former mayor of Bucaramanga who is little known in Colombian politics.
Some Colombians compare Hernandez to former U.S. President Donald Trump, calling him the “Colombian Trump.”
If elected, Petro, a critic of the Colombian military establishment, could become the first left-wing president in the South American country embroiled in a variety of very complex social and economic issues.
On Sunday, Colombians in Tampa who are registered to vote can help choose the country’s next leader. Colombia’s current population is almost 52 million.
On May 29, 3,235 Colombians from the Tampa Bay area went to the polls. The Colombian Consulate in Orlando includes 31,200 registered Colombian voters: 8,000 in Tampa; 1,600 in Jacksonville; and 21,600 in Orlando.
Related: Colombian presidential election
In the Tampa Bay Area, those who are registered can vote on Sunday at the football facility, Football 5, 5901 W. Linebaugh Ave., Tampa. Ten ballot tables will be set up for official voting.
Road engineer Rodolfo Hernández, the presidential candidate, faces former guerrilla Gustavo Petro for the presidency of Colombia. Two weeks ago, polls favored Petro. Photo: AP | Maurici Pinzón [ MAURICIO PINZON | AP ]
Colombian presidents are elected for four-year terms. In 2015, the Colombian Congress approved the elimination of the re-election of presidents. Current President Ivan Duque is the least popular in decades.
Neither of the two current candidates is part of the traditional political parties in the South American country.
Colombia has an unemployment rate of 12%, according to Colombia’s Administrative Department of Statistics. To aggravate Colombia’s financial and social tensions, more than 1.9 million Venezuelans emigrated to Colombia, seeking survival, a better future and fleeing the violence and communism that engulfed their country.
Petro has been a member of the Colombian Senate since 2018 and is in his third attempt to become president. Hernández, owner of a construction company, was mayor of Colombia’s fifth largest city from 2016 until his resignation in 2019.
Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro. Photo: AP | Fernando Vergara [ FERNANDO VERGARA | AP ]
According to the newspaper The country, Petro stated that he earned 478 million pesos in 2020, just over $ 120,000. Hernandez claimed a $ 100 million fortune.
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Voter turnout in the first round of the presidential election was the lowest in two decades, according to the National Register. Almost 55% of Colombians went to the polls.
According to the results of a large poll in which the most important Colombian media participated, the voters who will elect the next president are the undecided (13%). These voters, according to the poll, will lean towards Petro or Hernández.
In Tampa, volunteers and organizers of the Colombian mobile consulate in the area expect a massive turnout.
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Voting in Tampa for the second round of the Colombian presidential election: Football 55901 West Linebaugh Ave., Tampa, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., June 19.