Ex-guerrillas as bringers of peace?

Colombia is facing explosive elections

Created: 05/20/2022, 12:49 p.m

Petro, the left-wing presidential candidate, has a good chance in the election on May 29, 2022.

© IMAGO/Daniel Garzon Herazo

Armed groups are an extreme threat to Colombia's security - left-wing guerrillas are one of the parties to the conflict.

Can ex-guerrilla Petro solve the problems?

Bogotá/Munich – Colombia is currently going through the most violent phase since 2016. The peace agreement at that time officially ended a civil war that had lasted almost six decades.

The atrocities of this time are still being processed.

After this agreement, for some time it was believed that the guerrilla struggle in Colombia would finally come to an end.

Nevertheless, the conflict escalated again.

Still, the presidential elections scheduled for May 29 are raising hopes of change here and there in the country.

A candidate from the left has a good chance of winning against the conservative candidate Federico Gutiérrez: Gustavo Petro, himself a former member of the left-wing guerrilla group Movimiento 19 de Abril, or M-19 for short, is now politically much more moderate - and some hope so , his insider view of Colombia's warring factions could prove helpful.

Colombia's presidential election 2022: brutal armed conflict in the background of the elections

But first of all, the potential for conflict between the opposing parties - in particular left-wing guerrillas on the one hand and right-wing paramilitaries on the other - is great.

Both favorites could risk falling victim to an act of violence from the other camp in the upcoming elections.

After all, the Marxist National Liberation Army (ELN) recently announced on the occasion of the presidential election on May 29th.

a ten-day ceasefire from May 25 to June 4.

The ELN has been the last officially recognized rebel group in the South American country since the signing of a peace agreement between the rebel organization FARC and the Colombian state in 2016.

The ELN was formed in 1964 after the communist revolution in Cuba.

Their allegedly around 2,500 fighters are said to be located mainly in the border areas with Venezuela and along the Pacific coast.

But the ELN also has an important network of supporters in the urban centers of Colombia.

The ELN is mainly financed by the drug trade, which continues to flourish in the country and is linked to Europe.

Video: Violence in Colombia - Indigenous people flee to the capital

Presidential election 2022 in Colombia: Tight race between Petro and Gutièrrez expected

After the May 29 election, a runoff between Petro and Gutièrrez is expected to take place on June 19.

Petro used to belong to the M-19 guerrilla group, which laid down its arms in the 1990s.

From 2012 to 2015 he was mayor of the capital Bogotá.

Petro is currently Senator.

He has announced that he will negotiate with the rebels if he is elected president.

There are hopes that the ex-guerrilla, with his insider knowledge of the country's complex conflicts, might find new levers to bring about long-term peace.

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The left emerged stronger from the parliamentary elections in Colombia on March 13.

The election was also considered a mood test for the presidential election.

The South American country is traditionally conservative, also due to the decades-long armed conflict between the government and the left-wing FARC guerrillas.

In the 2018 presidential election, Petro lost to the conservative Iván Duque, who is no longer allowed to run.

The constitution does not provide for re-election of the head of state.

Petro pays attention to moderate image - Ex-guerrillas promised under oath to refrain from expropriations

Petro, who is considered the favorite according to current polls, could be dangerous because his past as a guerrilla fighter could deter the (sparse) political center.

In addition to his more left-wing regular voters, this could possibly give him a decisive advantage over Gutièrrez.

He is obviously trying to present more moderate positions publicly.

About a month before the presidential election in Colombia, Petro promised that he would not carry out expropriations if he won.

"It has never been part of our program to damage someone's private property," Petro announced on Twitter on Monday (May 16): "Today we reaffirm this commitment under oath." According to media reports, Petro also made his election promise a notary's office in Bogotá.

He responded to speculation by critics by promising that he wanted to intervene radically in the South American country's economy.

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