Colombia's Center-Left Is Seen Winning 2022's Presidential Race
Andrea Jaramillo, Bloomberg News
News Wire
44m ago
Andrea Jaramillo, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- President Ivan Duque’s disapproval rating above 77% and the social and economic crises faced by Colombians in the pandemic will pave the way for a candidate from the center to win in next year’s elections, according to Control Risks.
“The social discontent accumulated in the last few years -- compounded by the pandemic, the corruption and Duque’s political decisions -- is highly likely to change the election’s outcome,” analysts Silvana Amaya and Claudia Navas from risk consultancy Control Risks wrote in a report. “This is likely to give the center-left and left-inclining parties the opportunity to take the presidential office next year.”
Early polls show former guerrilla member and Senator Gustavo Petro leading before the May 2022 vote, signaling the possibility that Colombia will have a leftist leader for the first time. He’s called for an overhaul of the nation’s economic model by cutting its dependence on exports of oil and coal, and wants to distribute a greater share of corporate revenue to workers.
Despite Petro’s popularity, a candidate from the center-left is likely to attract millions of right-wing voters, according to Control Risks. The right is likely to use the crisis in Venezuela as “a fear tactic against leftist policies –- a strategy that has historically shaped the political feelings and opinion of many right-wing voters.”
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https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/colombia-s-center-left-is-seen-winning-2022-s-presidential-race-1.1660548