Colombia's election could mark the start of a resurgent left
MAY 24, 2018 / 10:59 AM / A DAY AGO
Julia Symmes Cobb, Helen Murphy
8 MIN READ
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Left-wing presidential candidate Gustavo Petro had a simple but radical proposal for his audience in the small industrial town of Yumbo in western Colombia.
What if his government bought a huge stretch of land owned by billionaire sugar baron Carlos Ardila Lulle close to the nearby city of Cali?
“It would be nice if he decided, once we are in power, to sell his Incauca farm to the government so we can give it to peasant farmers,” said Petro, a former rebel with the M19 urban guerrilla group, speaking during a rally on April 26.
The crowd roared approval for an idea that would not have sounded out of place in the platform of several leftist Latin American leaders in recent years but that seemed shocking from a mainstream candidate in Colombia.
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