Petro, Gustavo
As Latin America Shifts Left, Leaders Face a Bleak Reality.
BOGOTÁ, Colombia — In Chile, a tattooed former student activist won the presidency with a pledge to oversee the most profound transformation of Chilean society in decades, widening the social safety net and shifting the tax burden to the wealthy. In Peru, the son of poor farmers was propelled to victory on a vow to […]
Know More
Gustavo Petro Promised to Transform Colombia as President. Can He Do It?
BOGOTÁ, Colombia — In a packed arena in Bogotá on Sunday, amid a burst of confetti and below a sign that read “Colombia won,” Gustavo Petro celebrated his victory as the first leftist ever elected president of Colombia. “The government of hope has arrived,” said the former rebel and longtime legislator, to a cascade of […]
Know More
Gustavo Petro Wins the Election, Becoming Colombia’s First Leftist Leader
BOGOTÁ, Colombia — For the first time, Colombia will have a leftist president. Gustavo Petro, a former rebel and a longtime legislator, won Colombia’s presidential election on Sunday, galvanizing voters frustrated by decades of poverty and inequality under conservative leaders, with promises to expand social programs, tax the wealthy and move away from an economy […]
Know More
Colombia Election: Angry, Mobilized and Voting for Gustavo Petro
A large and loud youth electorate hungry to transform one of Latin America’s most unequal societies could propel Gustavo Petro, a former rebel, to the presidency. May 26, 2022 FUSAGASUGÁ, Colombia — The man onstage surrounded by a screaming, sweating, fawning crowd seemed like an odd choice for a youth icon. Gustavo Petro is gray-haired, […]
Know More
Francia Márquez Could Become Colombias First Black Vice President
CALI, Colombia — In the streets of Cali, a cradle of Colombian culture and protest, a crowd stretched for blocks, flying white campaign flags and wearing T-shirts that read “the people will not surrender!” Amid the throng was a famous singer, an important senator, a well-known journalist, a child rapper and a cluster of local […]
Know More