Former rebel fighter Gustavo Petro is set to become Colombia's first leftist president after narrowly defeating millionaire businessman Rodolfo Hernández in Sunday's runoff election, early results showed.
The big picture: Petro's running mate, Francia Márquez, will become Colombia's first Black vice president.
- Petro had more than 50.4% of the votes, compared to Hernández's 47.26%, with over 99% of the ballots counted Sunday evening, according to early results released by the national registry office. Official results are expected later this week.
Driving the news: Sunday's runoff was set to shake up Colombia's political and economic landscape regardless of the winner.
- The success of Petro and Hernández — two anti-establishment figures — in the first-round election late last month was seen as a major blow to Colombia's political class. They entered Sunday's runoff virtually tied in the polls.
- Petro will replace highly unpopular President Iván Duque, who could not run for re-election.
State of play: Colombia, one of Latin America’s biggest economies and strongest U.S. allies, is facing high inflation and worsening unemployment and inequality. ...
- It's also still reeling after a half-century-long armed conflict with the now-defunct FARC guerrillas. The country has seen an uptick in violence, in part due to armed groups fighting over territory once controlled by the FARC.
- Petro, a former mayor of Bogota who was once a rebel fighter with the now-defunct M-19 movement, has promised to fight inequality, provide free public university education and tackle climate change, including opposing the expansion of the oil and gas industry. He also vowed to transform