Colombia Presidential Election 2022: Former Rebel Gustavo Petro Expected to Be the First Left-Wing President, According to Polls

As Colombia presidential election 2022 nears, polls are suggesting that former rebel Gustavo Petro is seen to be the favorite to win in May after he secured the nomination of the left-wing Historic Pact Coalition.

Petro is a former guerilla with the M-19 rebel group. He also won Sunday's primary by a wide margin, according to a BBC News report.

Petro is set to face five other candidates in the presidential election on May 29. If he were to win, Petro would be the first left-wing president to lead Colombia.

The centrist party Centro Esperanza chose mathematician Sergio Fajardo as its candidate while Federicio Gutierrez won the nomination for the right-wing Team Colombia coalition.

Fajardo and Gutierrez are both former mayors of one of Colombia's biggest cities, Medellin.

Ingrid Betancourt will also be joining the race for the presidency, as well as Rodolfo Hernandez bearing the Anticorruption League.

Betancourt was held hostage by Farc rebels for more than six years.

Gustavo Petro Presidential Election Polls

Petro had taken over 80 percent of the vote against the five other presidential candidates. It would propel him forward to the first round of the presidential election on May 29.

In addition, most opinion polls suggest he is favorite to win, according to a Financial Times report.

Petro told supporters on Sunday night that it is the best result for progressives in the history of Colombia, adding that "we're on the verge of winning" the presidential seat of Colombia in the first round.

Petro has vowed to wind down Colombia's oil industry by stopping all exploration, adding that the country should focus on manufacturing and agriculture instead.

Economists noted that Petro's prospected policy would have a huge effect, with fossil fuels generating about half of Colombia's export avenue.

The 64-year-old presidential candidate also promised wholesale land reform, a wealth tax on the largest 4,000 fortunes in the country, as well as the repeal of laws from decades ago that liberalized the labor market.

Patricia Muñoz, a political scientist at Javeriana University in Bogotá, noted that there is a clear winner today in Petro.

She also predicted that he would now seek an alliance with the Liberal party, which has no presidential candidate of its own.

Sarita Zapata Casas, a 22-year-old actress, said that they want to change and that is the most important thing.

Zapata Casas said that if the country continues like it is, "we're going to run ourselves into the ground," according to an Aljazeera report.

Petro received more than four million votes, with his coalition gathering even more. However, it does not include a congressional majority.

Gustavo Petro

Petro had also a presidential bid in 2018, which he lost to right-wing Ivan Duque, who now has reported disapproval rates, according to a France 24 News report.

Petro said that he would pursue a different leftist model as compared to those of controversial leaders such as Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega and Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro.

The former rebel and now senator said that he would instead align himself to a "progressivism," which he relates to Chile's president-elect Gabrial Boric and Brazil's ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Petro also said that he would approach the United States with common subjects, such as the climate crisis.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Gustavo Petro: "Estamos ad portas de ganar la Presidencia de Colombia en la primera vuelta" - from Noticias Caracol