Last Updated on March 19, 2022, 4:53 AM AST by Anthony Morris
To get elected, Yoad Ernesto Pérez Becerra had to start his campaign in one of the most dangerous parts of Colombia. He said that he would be a “architect for peace.”
The candidate said that he would fight corruption and start new things in the Venezuelan border region of Catatumbo, but the people in charge didn’t like it. They were not the Colombian government, but a toxic group of armed groups that were fighting for power.
People from the rebel group the National Liberation Army (ELN) held and threatened Pérez Becerra, a candidate running for a congressional seat that was set aside for people who had been hurt in the conflict.
They took the candidate’s state-appointed bodyguards’ guns and Pérez Becerra’s most important campaign tools, like his car and phones, at gun point. There was a reminder that the price of change could be their lives. They were left alone in the middle of nowhere.
“I thought they would kill me.” “It scared me, and it has affected my whole campaign.”
Colombians are going to the polls on Sunday to vote in the country’s congressional elections and inter-party meetings that serve as primaries for the presidential election, which is very close. The results could be a sign of big changes in politics in a country that has been very conservative.
People say that while there is a lot of room for change, it could also lead to a wave of violence that hasn’t happened in Colombia since the country signed a peace deal in 2016. They say the presidential race is very unpredictable.
Alvaro Uribe, a former right-wing president who was very controversial, has been in charge of the South American country for a long time.
Even though Ivan Duque, who is a member of Uribe’s right-wing Democratic Center party, is the most unpopular Colombian president in decades, an Invamer poll found.
Late last year, more than 75% of Colombians said they didn’t like their leader.
Analysts say that the huge dislike for Duque and his party was caused by a rise in violence in the countryside and “egregious” human rights violations by police last year.
Camilo Gonzalez Posso, the head of a think-tank in Bogotá, says that there is a huge backlash against the violence, the deaths, the corruption, and the way the health crisis has been handled. “It’s changing the political climate and strengthening more moderate and leftist groups.”
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
