Two erratic presidential candidates put Colombia at risk
In a run-off in June voters will choose between an ex-guerrilla or a TikTok populist
Chucking out incumbents and everything they stand for is all the rage in Latin America. Peru did it in June last year. Chile did it in December. Brazil is likely to do it in October. May 29th was Colombia’s turn, when voters plumped for the two presidential candidates who most clearly represent change. Gustavo Petro, pictured left, is a former guerrilla who got more than 40% of votes (around 8.5m). Rodolfo Hernández, pictured right, is a millionaire who was little-known a few months ago but has fired up devotees with his rants on TikTok. He won 28%. The run-off is on June 19th.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Into the unknown”
From the June 4th 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Leaders
Sir Keir Starmer should aim higher in his reset with the EU
And he needs to be clearer about what Britain wants
To make electricity cheaper and greener, connect the world’s grids
Less than 3% of the world’s power is internationally traded—a huge wasted opportunity
Chinese AI is catching up, posing a dilemma for Donald Trump
The success of cheap Chinese models threatens America’s technological lead
America has an imperial presidency
And in Donald Trump, an imperialist president for the first time in over a century
Tariffs will harm America, not induce a manufacturing rebirth
Donald Trump’s pursuit of tariffs will make the world poorer—and America, too
How to improve clinical trials
Involving more participants can lead to new medical insights