Senator Gustavo Petro, a former member of the M-19 guerrilla movement, won the second round of the general election in Colombia after receiving 50.3 percent of the vote against his populist rival Rudolfo Hernandez, who won 47.3.
This is the first time a far-left candidate will lead the South American country, the U.S. main ally in the region.
"We will propose an administration of hope," Petro, 62, told his supporters in the capital, Bogota, knowing the results that make him the 42nd president of Colombia.
In his victory speech this morning (Israel time), the incoming president promised to interrupt the existing rift in the country and implement a progressive platform, as he detailed in his movement's platform.
"As of today, Colombia is changing, Colombia is different. This is not the time for hatred. This government, which will be sworn in on August 7, will be a government of life," he added.
Hernandez, Petro's political rival, the "outsider" of the election with a populist-nationalist platform, accepted the results and congratulated his rival.
"I hope Petro knows how to lead the country, that he stays true to the war on corruption and that he does not disappoint those who chose him," he noted during remarks he delivered through social media as he did during the campaign, from his home in the north of the country.
For Israel, the change does not bode well, although it is likely that upon taking office, Petro will choose a more moderate speech towards Jerusalem in light of the common interests between the two countries.
However, he is expected to support more emphatically in favor of the Palestinians in international organizations and will not spare criticism of Israel.
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