Ex-rebel takes oath as Colombia president in historic shift

[Guno צְבִי]

Colombia’s first leftist president was sworn into office Sunday, promising to fight inequality and heralding a turning point in the history of a country haunted by a long war between the government and guerrilla groups.


Petro is part of a growing group of leftist politicians and political outsiders who have been winning elections in Latin America since the pandemic broke out and hurt incumbents who struggled with its economic aftershocks.

The ex-rebel’s victory was also exceptional for Colombia, where voters had been historically reluctant to back leftist politicians who were often accused of being soft on crime or allied with guerrillas.

A 2016 peace deal between Colombia's government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia turned much of the focus of voters away from the violent conflicts playing out in rural areas and gave prominence to problems like poverty and corruption, fueling the popularity of leftist parties in national elections.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...A10pIrq?cvid=489c00b78d384aad8b4d5773a75a9e91

 

[goat]

Colombia’s first leftist president was sworn into office Sunday, promising to fight inequality and heralding a turning point in the history of a country haunted by a long war between the government and guerrilla groups.


Petro is part of a growing group of leftist politicians and political outsiders who have been winning elections in Latin America since the pandemic broke out and hurt incumbents who struggled with its economic aftershocks.

The ex-rebel’s victory was also exceptional for Colombia, where voters had been historically reluctant to back leftist politicians who were often accused of being soft on crime or allied with guerrillas.

A 2016 peace deal between Colombia's government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia turned much of the focus of voters away from the violent conflicts playing out in rural areas and gave prominence to problems like poverty and corruption, fueling the popularity of leftist parties in national elections.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...A10pIrq?cvid=489c00b78d384aad8b4d5773a75a9e91

What do you know about Gustavo Petro? Do you have an opinion on a socialist being elected president of Colombia?

 

[Hawkeye10]

South and Central America are rapidly lining up with China, and against America.

 

[Hawkeye10]

On Sunday, Petro claimed that he owed his victory to the young and to oppressed minorities. However, what likely drove him over the finish line—he beat Hernandez by a mere 700,000 votes—was the support of well‐​oiled, often corrupt political machines, whose bosses sought to protect their guaranteed slices of the annual budget or regional bureaucratic fiefdoms.

Both bien pensants and political machine operators seem to bet that they somehow can curb Petro’s more fanatical tendencies. Some commentators claim that Congress, where his party does not hold a majority, can resist Petro’s push for autocracy, and that the central bank will be able to maintain its independence. Others interpret his promise to “develop” Colombian capitalism during his victory speech as a sign of moderation.

I remain a skeptic, not least due to my personal dealings with Petro in online debates—he once wrote to me to defend the labor theory of value—and during his mayorship of Bogota, when, arbitrarily, he attempted to shut down the city’s 25 very successful charter schools due to ideological posturing and pressure from the local teachers’ union. Which is to say, I believe he can cajole or bribe sufficient congressmen in order to form a majority. He might even try a hostile takeover of the central bank.

https://www.cato.org/blog/colombias...ZHGVDstE9ExTcQNgt_dKppnM9KWm4Ph4aAtymEALw_wcB

 

[Guno צְבִי]

What do you know about Gustavo Petro? Do you have an opinion on a socialist being elected president of Colombia?

I like him and think he will do great things for Columbia

 

[Guno צְבִי]

https://www.cato.org/blog/colombias...ZHGVDstE9ExTcQNgt_dKppnM9KWm4Ph4aAtymEALw_wcB

Cato?

 

[goat]

I like him and think he will do great things for Columbia

I agree. Petro knows how to maneuver his way through the IMF, NATO, and his overlords in the US.

 

[Guno צְבִי]

South and Central America are rapidly lining up with China, and against America.

No, peoples movements are getting stronger you should read '“Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance,”

 

[Callinectes]

Yay! Commutard nazi dictators have ALWAYS worked out for latin america!

 

[Bigdog]

No, peoples movements are getting stronger you should read '“Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance,”

The gov't started disarming the people of Columbia as early as 2012. By 2016, the gun ban was nationwide on ordinary citizens.

The people were left defenseless against organized crime and violent socialist rebels.

 

[cawacko]

Yay! Commutard nazi dictators have ALWAYS worked out for latin america!

I don’t profess to be some expert on Latin America but I had a similar reaction. I can remember on here there were one or two people celebrating Hugo Chavez coming to power and how he was going to transform their country, and ultimately Latin America etc. We saw how that worked out. I guess if you’re on the left hope springs eternal that the next leftist will deliver the promised land.