On June 19, local time, Colombia elected gustavo Petro, the first left-wing president in history. There are reports that after the left-wing president took office, Colombia, which was previously an important ally of the United States, has "changed the sky".
Prior to this, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Mexico, Bolivia, Honduras and many other Latin American countries were governed by left or center-left. In addition, in October this year, Brazil will hold a general election, and the leader of the left-wing Labor Party, former President Lula, is likely to make a comeback.
↑ Gustavo Petro
Xu Shicheng, member of the Honorary Faculty of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and researcher of the Institute of Latin American Studies, recently wrote in The Globe magazine that at present, the diplomatic independence of most Latin American countries has increased, and they are unwilling to take the lead only in the United States, and fundamental changes have taken place in US-Latin American relations.
Colombia's first left-wing president:
Former guerrilla defeats 'brother version of Trump'
In the second round of Colombia's presidential election held on the 19th, Gustavo Petro, a candidate for the left-wing campaign alliance "Colombian Historical Convention Alliance", defeated The businessman known as "Colombian Trump", Rudolf Hernandez.
Petro, born in 1960, was reportedly a former partisan who took part in the Colombian left-wing guerrilla M-19 ("Movement 19 April"). After the disbandment of the partisans in 1990, he formed a new political party with other former partisan members, serving as a senator, a member of the House of Representatives and the mayor of Bogotá. Petro's election sparked the desire of millions of poor, struggling, young Colombians to "see a new face."
↑ Gustavo Petro waved to the crowd
Notably, Petro has a master's degree in economics, and economic issues are also major issues that Colombia now needs to face. It is reported that the proportion of poor people in Colombia is nearly 40%. Due to the huge impact of the new crown epidemic, nearly 12 million people in the region have "fallen out" of the middle class echelon, and boosting the economy will be a major problem for the new government.
Economically, Petro stressed the need to free the country's economy from resource dependence, promising to replace the oil revenues that the current government relies on by developing tourism and green energy, as well as imposing wealth taxes, according to Xinhua. At the same time, it said that it would tax the wealthy class extra, balance the fiscal deficit and ensure social fairness, which became its most left-wing policy. Politically, he stressed that the 1991 Constitution will be the core, guarantee the rights and interests of citizens, focus on strengthening the protection of vulnerable groups in the country, and continue to promote the peace process in Colombia.
Hernandez, 76, is a wealthy businessman with a fortune of more than $100 million. He was born in the city of Piedcuesta in Santander province and governed the city of Bucaramanga, the capital of the province, as mayor from 2016 to 2019, and he leads HG Construction, one of the largest construction companies in the province.
It has been reported that the reason why Hernandez is called "Brother Trump" is because his way of speaking and "playing cards according to common sense" are easily reminiscent of former US President Trump. For example, Hernandez had suggested merging all departments to save money. He has also previously said that if elected president, he would declare a state of emergency in response to corruption, which has led to fears that he could shut down Congress or suspend the mayor. In addition, just as Trump was previously keen to use social platforms to "promote" himself, Hernandez has also gained a lot of support through short video social platforms.
Colombia's first African-American female vice president:
"Reducing inequality" is a priority
In addition to its historic first left-wing president, Colombia welcomed its first African-American vice president, Marquez.
According to reports, Márquez is an environmental activist, born in the countryside of Colombia's Cauca province, which has about 80% of the poor population. She has reportedly organized campaigns against hydropower projects, challenged people who want to encroach on land from Colombia's African-American population to open gold mines, and won the Goldman Environmental Prize, known as the Green Nobel Prize in 2018, as a spokesperson for "Colombian Africans and marginalized populations," and also faces death threats for her environmental work.
↑ The first African-American female vice president in Colombian history, Marquez
Márquez will also lead an "equality sector" aimed at improving women's rights and helping the poor. Sanchez, the head of an NGO based in Latin America, believes Márquez will be different from his previous vice president. Sanchez explained that she (Márquez) is a woman from the countryside who has real life experience, while politicians who previously served as leaders do not have her life experience. It is reported that Márquez had a daughter at the age of 16. In order to raise her daughter, she went to the house to help people clean the house and also worked in the restaurant. While working, she is also pursuing a law degree.
Sanchez believes that Márquez may be responsible for dealing with gender inequality issues, among other things. In an interview, Márquez also said that "reducing inequality" is an important matter that he will deal with as vice president of the country. Márquez reportedly called on Colombians to fight racism and gender inequality and ensure the basic rights of the poor. She brings hope to the suffering rural voters and to young people and women in urban areas.
U.S.-China Relations:
"Close allies" gradually diverging?
After the first left-wing president took office, in addition to Colombia's domestic problems, its relationship with the United States also became the focus of attention. Some reports pointed out that after Petro came to power, the relationship between the United States and Colombia is bound to change.
Previously, Colombia had been a "close partner" of the United States. According to reports, since 2000, the US government has provided 2.5 billion US dollars in funds to Colombia, the vast majority of which has been used for military assistance and training of government troops. The ideas put forward by then Colombian President Uribe to "attack drug trafficking" and "anti-government guerrillas" were also welcomed by the George W. Bush administration. Bush jr. also praised Uribe as a "true friend" of the United States. In March 2003, the United States launched a war against Iraq, and Colombia was one of the few Latin American countries that actively supported the United States' use of force against Iraq.
↑ Former U.S. President George W. Bush (right) with former Colombian President Uribe
However, after former US President Trump took office, he suddenly "turned his face" and scolded this former ally and criticized his ineffective anti-drug response. As a major military and anti-drug ally of the United States, Colombia has never been criticized by such names before. Adam Isaacson, an analyst at the Institute for Latin American Studies in Washington at the time, said that Trump's statement sent a message that even if you work with the United States for many years, as long as you deviate from our established strategy, we will publicly humiliate you. He also pointed out at the time that the United States was pulling the U.S.-Colombian relationship down to its worst level in 20 years.
There are reports that Colombia's new government may engage in dialogue with the U.S. government on climate issues, environmental issues, energy transitions, etc., but the report also points out that Pedro's dialogue with Biden is expected to be difficult because the two sides have diametrically opposed attitudes on some issues. It is reported that Petro supports the recognition of Venezuelan President Maduro, while the United States opposes this.
↑In December 2004, Columbia drug lord Rodriguez was extradited to the United States
In addition, Petro was critical of his previous anti-drug policies, arguing that the complete eradication of coca (the original plant of the drug cocaine) would do nothing to reduce drug flows to the United States, and insisted that the focus should be on crop substitution. Petro also wants to amend the extradition treaty with the United States.
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken quickly congratulated Petro after his election, and Brian, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, also said there would be "a lot of consensus" between the Biden administration and the upcoming "left-wing government." However, Cynthia, former director of the Wilson Center's Latin America program, believes that the United States will see its influence in Latin America in the future.
Latin America has set off another "left-wing tide":
Latin American powers are planning to build a progressive alliance The United States is gradually marginalized
When the Americas Summit was held in the United States in early June, the embarrassed Biden administration was forced to realize that U.S. influence in Latin America had waned. After Colombia elected its first left-wing president, the next focus of attention was Brazil's presidential election.
Former Brazilian left-wing President Lula has reportedly announced that he will participate in Brazil's presidential elections in October. According to the polls, Lula is in the lead for the time being, most likely elected president in October. In a previous interview, Petro said he envisioned a progressive alliance with Brazil and Chile. If Lula wins and Petro's plan succeeds, the league could become a powerful force in the Western Hemisphere, at which point the United States could be marginalized.
Petro also reportedly called for "a dialogue in the Americas without exclusion." In response to a question about "mexico's president refusing to participate in the Summit of the Americas because of protests," Petro said he would not miss any opportunity to participate in the dialogue, though he pointed out that it was wrong not to invite some countries to participate in the dialogue.
Red Star News reporter Li Jinrui
Edited by Zhang Xun
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