After the election day this Sunday, the candidate of the Historical Pact, Gustavo Petro, spoke from the Red Room of the Tequendama Hotel for the first time, after knowing the results that define the candidates who went to a second round of the presidential elections .
The candidate began by thanking the families, both his and that of his vice-presidential formula, Francia Márquez. “Today we have won, today is a day of triumph”, said the Petro.
“I thank the 90,000 witnesses who accompanied us, guardians of the vote. I believe that a million activists who through networks, in the streets, in the neighborhoods, even if it were with a phrase […]have made it possible in all the regions of Colombia that today we are 8,500,000 citizens of Colombia, victorious in this first round”, he continued thanking.
“More than 40%, if compared to the figures from four years ago, let’s not even talk about it, twice as much,” added the presidential candidate. “I have to thank all that Nariñense, Caucano people. More than 70% of the Nariño and Caucano electorate voted for us”, he reiterated.
“Now, in these three weeks, the electorate of Chocó, Valle, Cauca, Cali, there we had our best result. To my people of the Colombian Caribbean, this time you helped us firmly and dignified”, added the candidate, thanking several of the regions of the country in which he emerged victorious.
Petro affirmed that the dispute “is the countryside, the political parties allied to the government of Duque, of President Duque, his political project has been defeated […]. End of a period, end of an era”.
In a speech with a defensive tone, he criticized his now main contender for the Presidency of Colombia, the candidate Rodolfo Hernández, of whom he assured, without naming him, that “corruption is not fought with TikTok phrases, even if some very respectable people think so. Corruption is fought by risking one’s life, because what we are facing is a corrupt regime”.
“We are not here to deceive with a speech, but to put the realities on the table and clearly tell Colombian society where we are going. We do not want more violence, we have proposed a path of peace”.
“Four years ago when we disputed with Dukearound these same times, the majority of society apparently decided that the path was not peace, that peace had to be shattered, lead is what they said out there”.
“Today we have more violence, today we have more corruption, today we are more hungry. Was it worth closing the road to progressivism for fear of a change that would rather lead us to peace, to a transparent state and to a more democratic and productive society?” he asserted.
“My opponent is accused of corruption. That’s what we want? It is not a process of lies”, stated Petro, referring to Rodolfo Hernández.
“Who can consider that the real change consists of having hundreds of thousands of families enslaved by paying mortgage loans, because the owners of those apartments and houses find it delicious that little men and women pay 15 years to the multimillionaire owner until they can have a house “, said.
“Do we believe that this is the society that can build social justice, that this is the change? So the change is to have the women in the house while the men rule and to have the debtors enslaved,” she added.
“What we want here is social justice,” concluded the candidate of the Historical Pact, while explaining several of his proposals on pensions, education and agriculture.
“We are a million votes away from winning”he concluded while the people in the room shouted “if you can, if you can.”
The bid in the presidential contest will now be between Gustavo Petro and Rodolfo Hernandezwho will dispute the arrival at the Casa de Nariño on June 19, when Colombians will go to the polls again.
Petro, according to the results of the National Registry of Civil Status, has so far obtained 40.34% of the votes, while Hernández obtained 28.17%. The third place was occupied by Federico Gutiérrez, with 23.87%, and the fourth by Sergio Fajardo, with 4.20%.
The presidential candidate voted this Sunday at the Marco Antonio Carreño Silva school, located in the La Asunción neighborhood of the town of Puente Aranda, a central area of the country’s capital.
Nevertheless, the leader of the Human Colombia suffered a small setback and for that reason he could not deposit his vThis was confirmed immediately by Verónica Alcocer, Cordovan’s wife, who assured on social networks that the candidate had forgotten to bring his identity document to the polling station.
“I trust in Colombian society, in its desire for change. In the end there are only two alternatives, it is a relatively simple choice: either leave things as they are in Colombia, which in my opinion is more corruption, more violence, more hunger, or change Colombia,” Petro said before voting.
After 40 minutes of waiting, the candidate was able to exercise his right to vote and, later, he wrote on his Twitter account: “I exercise my right to vote, with hope we will change the history of Colombia.”
Among the voters of the Historic Pact candidate were Maria Isabel Urrutia, the Valencia Train, Willington Ortiz, Manuel Rincon, Luis ‘Chicanero’ Mendoza, Fidel Bassa, Jairo Correa, Angie Orjuela, Oscar Figueroa, Andrea Garzon, Ubaldina Valoyes and Norfalia Carabalí.
Although sports idols are influential voices on social media, it is uncertain how many votes could lead to the polls.
Petro added support from various sectors
The former president of Brazil Luis Inácio Lula da Silva also expressed his support for the candidacy of Gustavo Petro in the Colombian presidential elections last Friday.
Lula, who seeks to defeat Jair Bolsonaro in his country’s presidential elections to be held in October, asked the “people of Colombia” to vote for Petro.
Secondly, Some of the most important actors and actresses in the country announced a few weeks ago on the different social networks that they had joined officially actively to the electoral campaign of Gustavo Petro.
“We Colombians deserve equal opportunities and a policy that bets on life, that is why the change must be with EVERYONE and for EVERYONE. I believe in the Pact and I am confident that we can change the present of this country, ”said Carolina Ramírez, remembered for her role as Yeimy Montoya in the queen of flow.