Petro - a Colombian Obama, si se puede |
Sunday saw the dawn of a new left-wing in Colombia. Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla in the ultra-left M-19 was elected Mayor of Bogota, in the process becoming the second most powerful politician in the land. The progressives - a political party he formed only four months ago - also became a major political force gaining councillor seats across the capital city. Petro wasted no time in announcing that this party would take their fight to the nation, promising to field candidates across the country when the country elects its congressmen and the president of the republic in 2014.
The left in Colombia has tended to the extreme rather than to the centre - more guerrilla and Chavez supporting than ´third way´ pragmatists. Petro himself once played this role. But to get elected in Bogota he underwent a transformation, tidying up his image, softening his rhetoric and appealing to the middle-classes who once would have been appalled by his guerrilla past.
The election of Petro sends a message to those on the left that if they want to play a useful role in the political life of Colombia they must move to the centre. Will they heed it and will a new, democratic left become a major force in Colombian politics?
After years in the wilderness in a country where the right-wing has dominated, the Colombian left finally appear to be finding their voice. Last month this website reported on the leftwards recalibration of the Santos government, and of the polls that pointed to a left-wing victory in Bogota.
Since that article Gustavo Petro has indeed won the election, and is now mayor-elect of the Colombian capital. At the same time Santos´ government has taken a further step - albeit an incremental one - to the left, by naming the leader of the Liberal Party, Rafael Pardo, the new employment minister.
Pardo´s appointment will be explored in greater detail in future articles on this website, but it´s worth noting here that Santos is focusing on those issues which the right is accused of having neglected. Santos is presenting his government as the job-creation government. This week employment figures showed that those out of work had dropped below 10% - an historic achievement, according to the Santos regime. Under the previous government, unemployment rose. Santos has also pointed in recent months to the fact that within Latin America, Colombia is the country where most new jobs have been created in the last year. So, who better to take charge of what is set to become a pillar of the Santos administration, than the leader of the centre, centre-left party within his coalition? Pardo is set to become a key figure, and he will not shy from his left-leaning (but centre-left leaning) ways.
Back to Bogota and to Petro´s historic victory. Until a few months ago Gustavo Petro was still seen largely as a left-wing rebel - a serious politician, yes, but one that could appeal to those on the centre, most definitely not. Both his guerrilla past, and his scruffy left-wing philospher appearance turned voters off, in equal measure. But Petro decided to change. He appeared on television in suits and ties, he toned down his rhetoric and focused not on attacking his oponents but on presenting a positive image of the future of Bogota. He moved towards the centre - or at least appeared to do so. Petro´s campaign borrowed from Tony Blair´s Labour Party in the UK and from Bill Clinton´s Democrat Party in the US. He tore into the current administration, and the corruption at the heart of the Bogota government. He began to embody change. Petro´s old rhetoric had been negative, attack-dog like but over the last few months he began to paint voters a picture of the sunlight uplands of life under his leadership. He promised a ´politics of love´ not a classic left-wing class war. He cast himself as Bogota´s saviour, he became a quasi-religious figure. His own story is too one of salvation - a reformed guerrilla bringing peace to the streets of Bogota, healing the wounds of a nation scarred by bloody civil war. Hís victory speech read like St Francis of Asissi, bringing peace and harmony to a discordant city, and country. In this speech he called himself ´the son of the 1989 peace process´, and told the world that his election showed that Bogotanos ´had not fallen into the trap of the politics of hate and of the enternal war, but instead had said yes to reconciliation and yes to peace´.
President Santos was quick to congratulate Petro, and offer him a way of working with his government. Santos pointed to Petro as an example to guerrillas, demobilise and join us, he said. But he also showed how Petro´s politics can help deliver the President´s agenda. The two will work together to deliver the land reform which will give back to the displaced poor territory stolen from them during the years of conflict. Petro has moved to the centre, but he has also moved the centre to the left.
So what of the rest of the left in Colombia? Polo Democrat tanks have historically occupied the left-wing lawn. The party is, however, in dissaray in the aftermath of the Samuel Moreno scandal and following a poor showing in the elections last Sunday. Petro has signalled intent - his Progressives movement is now in his words ´the biggest political force in Bogota´. There can be little doubt that Petro will seek to exploit his victroy, claiming the Polo Democrat territory as his own. In Petro´s victory speech he spoke of the future ín which his party ´would transform into a national movement to construct a more democratic Colombia, a movement to build the 21 century (in the country)´. There is already talk of one time presidential candidate Antanas Mockus joining the group, and this website would not rule out many Green voters flocking to express their support.
Colombia is a country in which the opposition has historically been weak. The government and the president enjoy a concentrated power. Petro looks to be creating the base from which a healthy opposition can grow. The left must now sieze this opportunity, modernise and move to the centre. Petro´s victory changed Colombian politics - he was the first ex-guerrilla to take control of Bogota. But perhaps the biggest change will be seen in the formation of a new, democratic left.
Latin American countries too often fall into the trap of electing populist, socialist extremists like Chavez in Venezuela and Correa in Ecuador. Frustration at a lack of alternative to the right-wing is often to blame. Petro and his new movement should help to offer Colombians at least a way of voting left without enduring the whims of the revolutionaries.