XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.politics.elections, talk.politics.guns
XPost: sac.politics

In article <XnsAD1FB4F8E1377ds@95.216.243.224>
bks@panix.com (Bradley K. Sherman) wrote:

The whole USA's gonna be after Democrats in November 2022.

BOGOTA, June 17 (Reuters) - Colombians will vote on Sunday for
their next president, choosing between leftist Gustavo Petro,
who promises profound social reforms, and eccentric business
magnate Rodolfo Hernandez, who has found fertile ground in anti-
corruption rhetoric despite facing a graft investigation.

With polls showing the candidates in a technical tie, the
election could be one of the closest in Colombia's recent
history.

Petro, a former mayor of Bogota and a current senator, has
pledged to improve social and economic conditions in a country
where half of the population lives in some form of poverty.

"Petro is the president Colombia needs right now," said Nora
Guevara, a 48-year-old Bogota accountant who was handing out
fliers for him.

A former member of the M-19 guerrilla movement, Petro has
proposed an ambitious $13.5 billion tax reform - equivalent to
5.5% of Colombia's gross domestic product - funded by higher
duties on the richest.

Hernandez, a surprise contender in the second round, has been
propelled by anti-corruption pledges, plans to shrink government
and promises of housing for the poor.

However, the eccentric and often controversial septuagenarian
faces an investigation by the attorney general's office for
allegedly intervening in a trash collection tender while mayor
of Bucaramanga, to benefit a company his son had lobbied for.

Hernandez denies the accusations and his supporters like his
anti-establishment image.

"Rodolfo ... is a protest vote, a vote where anything political-
sounding is rejected," said real estate administrator Juan
Gonzalez, 45, at a Hernandez campaign event outside Bogota.

Whoever wins, Colombia's next president will receive a growing
economy, following the deep crisis caused by the coronavirus
pandemic.

The country's GDP expanded by a record 10.7% in 2021 and is
expected to grow 6.5% in 2022. The government deficit is
expected to hit 5.6% of GDP, compared with an earlier target of
6.2%.

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombians-will-choose- between-leftist-eccentric-businessman-sunday-vote-2022-06-17/

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