Colombian leftist leader Gustavo Petro will no longer have a clear path to victory in the upcoming presidential election, according to a new poll.
The survey, carried out by the National Consulting Center and published on Saturday by the magazine Weeksuggests a close race between Petro and his main rival, conservative candidate Federico “Fico” Gutiérrez.
Under the likely scenario of the two meeting in a runoff, Petro would receive 43.1% of the vote, while Gutierrez would get 40.1%, just within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 1. .5 percentage points.
Previous polls showed that the Historic Pact candidate would easily outperform all of his main rivals in a second round.
Petro, 61, is looking for a new economic model that does not depend on oil and coal. He is popular with young and low-income voters, while many business leaders fear him. Gutiérrez, a 47-year-old former mayor of Medellín, has promised to take a tougher stance on security issues.
Colombians will vote for a new president on May 29, with a likely second round in June. Bloomberg.
