From masked protests to the ballot box: Colombians shake up elections
| Cali, Colombia
Before Jhon Hern谩ndez became a voter for the first time last month, he was a front-line protester clamoring for change. He joined tens of thousands of Colombians last year in demanding stronger social programs and an end to a proposed tax reform, as COVID-19 restrictions wreaked havoc on the nation鈥檚 poor people.
This year, Mr. Hern谩ndez ditched the ski mask that had identified him as a protester and instead organized a voter registration drive, convinced that the way forward is not through bigger protests, but smarter voting.
鈥淐hange depends on our vote,鈥� says the community leader, who cast his ballot in a presidential election for the first time this year, despite being eligible for the past 15 years.
Why We Wrote This
Colombians marched in massive antigovernment protests in 2021. Their unanswered demands for improved employment, health, and education opportunities are driving record voters to elect a new outsider president.
He鈥檚 not alone. More Colombians cast their ballots in last month鈥檚 first-round election than in any other vote聽,聽spurred in large part by the historic street protests. Frustration with the government鈥檚 out-of-touch policy proposals, combined with a growing desire for change, has laid the groundwork for the major political shift underway in this weekend鈥檚 presidential runoff.
For decades, Colombia has been ruled by an elite group of establishment politicians. But, this weekend, two candidates who are eschewing the status quo face off in what is expected to be a historically close runoff. Both candidates are seen as leaning left 鈥� even if one is far from a traditional leftist 鈥� to cater to protester demands.
鈥淭he vast majority of Colombians are fed up with this exclusionary聽political and economic class that has been governing only in their [own] favor, with the excuse that the armed conflict precluded them from addressing anyone else鈥檚 concerns,鈥� says Elizabeth Dickinson, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.
鈥淯ndoubtedly, this scenario is a defeat for the traditional parties. It shows fatigue with their way of doing politics and dissatisfaction with expectations going unmet,鈥� says Daniela Garz贸n, a researcher at the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation, a think tank in Bogot谩.
From national strike to presidential elections
Last year, protests brought Colombia to a halt, with blockades and mass demonstrations lasting more than two months. Initially sparked by a proposed tax reform, the protests quickly broadened to include frustration over income, housing, education, and healthcare inequalities.
Close to聽聽of Colombians live in poverty, nearly聽聽of the workforce is informally employed, and violence is surging as armed groups expand, despite the promises of a 2016 peace deal.
Police repressed the protesters violently, and conservative President Iv谩n Duque addressed few of their grievances. These issues became top voter concerns.
In Cali, the epicenter of unrest, Mr. Hern谩ndez joined from day one, angry over the poor medical attention he received after injuring himself as a construction worker.
With a rock-slinging cohort of protesters, Mr. Hern谩ndez and his neighbors ousted police from their neighborhood, and held a six-block area for two months. They transformed a police station into a library, held art events and concerts, and hosted community assemblies to discuss solutions to the unrest.
The levels of participation seen in these protests were unprecedented, says Victoria Gonz谩lez, a professor at the Universidad Externado in Bogot谩. People supported protesters in any way they could: organizing soup kitchens, leading vigils and silent marches, teaching art classes, and hosting outdoor seminars on politics. Some Colombians, especially聽in working-class neighborhoods, were learning for the first time how Congress works.
This 鈥渃ontributed to creating a wider political conscience,鈥� she says.
Mr. Hern谩ndez says he鈥檇 never voted in an election before because 鈥渘othing was going to change.鈥� But participating in the protests and the decision-making that positively impacted his community was empowering. When protests ended with no real solutions, he decided the only option left was to vote.
鈥淲hat do we win by protesting if we鈥檙e not going to vote?鈥� he says.
Demonstrations aren鈥檛 new in Colombia, but in the past, protesters typically 鈥渄idn鈥檛 directly participate in elections,鈥� says Dr. Gonz谩lez.
鈥淣ow they believe their only hope for transformation is participating [at] the ballot box.鈥�
Bye-bye status quo?
This weekend鈥檚 runoff pits Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla who, if victorious, would become Colombia鈥檚 first leftist president, against Rodolfo Hern谩ndez, a populist businessman pledging to end corruption.
Mr. Petro previously served as mayor of Bogot谩, and has promised free higher education, welfare for poor people, a transition away from oil exports, and investment in the rural economy. He鈥檚 raised fears among some conservatives and the business community that as a leftist he would move Colombia in the direction of neighboring Venezuela.
Mr. Hern谩ndez, also a former mayor in the city of Bucaramanga, has inspired fed-up voters with his anti-corruption platform and straightforward manner of speaking. His populist rhetoric, asserting that 鈥渢he thieves need to be kicked out of politics,鈥� has connected with Colombians and earned him a surprise spot in the runoff.
Despite comparisons to Donald Trump and a wave of support from establishment candidates who didn鈥檛 make it into the second round, Mr. Hern谩ndez has released policy proposals that skew surprisingly to the left. They call for a full implementation of the peace deal, talks with the largest remaining rebel group, marijuana legalization, and restrictions on riot police.聽But he has also mentioned an intention to rule by emergency decree if he wins office, raising concern about his commitment to democratic institutions.
It鈥檚 not just Colombia rejecting the status quo. Across Latin America, lack of opportunity, and more recently the consequences of the pandemic, have fueled anti-incumbent fervor, catapulting outsiders into office. From Gabriel Boric in Chile to Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador in Mexico, successful candidates are increasingly speaking to and depending on votes of discontent.
But two anti-establishment outsiders reaching the final round makes Colombia unique, says Patricio Navia, a political scientist and professor at New York University. Both candidates are promising a clean break from the right-wing brand of politics that has won the presidency in the past four election cycles.
New generation of social leaders
On a recent afternoon in Cali, former protesters rode motorcycles to a rough neighborhood in the city鈥檚 south where they served food, offered free haircuts 鈥� and encouraged locals to vote.
Mayra Mueses, a protester-turned-organizer, says initially she had little interest in electoral politics. She鈥檇 never voted in her life. But, after five people were killed at the protest blockade she oversaw for two months last year, she felt driven to seek out new ways to pressure the government for change.
By talking to other protesters and educating herself, she 鈥渦nderstood that the repression that came from the police had been ordered,鈥� from people in power, says Ms. Mueses. 鈥淲e began to ask ourselves, 鈥業n whose hands are we if [politicians] are giving orders to kill their own people?鈥欌��
聽died during the protests last year, according to the rights group Indepaz, and Ms. Mueses鈥� political awakening isn鈥檛 unique in areas where protesters took to the streets..
础听聽shows nearly 70% of people between the ages of 18 and 24, the protagonists of last year鈥檚 demonstrations, will vote for Mr. Petro on June 19. They鈥檙e concerned with poverty and lack of opportunities, having witnessed friends join violent gangs and parents work until old age without pensions.
Older generations are wary of the stigmas associated with the left, in a nation that suffered decades of civil war between extreme leftist guerrilla groups and the government. Many are falling in line behind Mr. Hern谩ndez.
Ms. Mueses has no plans to return to protesting, deterred by the violence that injured and killed so many last year. But even if Mr. Petro loses, she says, that would not dampen her commitment to social change. 鈥淲e understand that it is the responsibility of the youth, like us, to vote.鈥�
Since the social uprisings last year, she adds, 鈥渕any social leaders have been born.鈥�
