For decades, Colombia has straddled two alternative political paths — one of war and one of peace; one of death and one of life.
The path of war, advanced by Colombian reactionaries and their foreign backers, served to entrench extreme inequalities in wealth, ownership, and political power.
The path of peace, shaped by the struggle of the Colombian people, sought to reconcile political differences in a project of redistribution, democratisation, and demilitarisation. The election result is a testament to the courage and the determination of the Colombian people to reclaim their democracy against all odds.
The victory of Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez is historic — for Colombia, for Latin America, and for the world.
The arrival of this “government of hope” marks another step forward for progressive forces across the continent — from Chile to Honduras and soon to Brazil. Petro’s presidency is an historic opportunity to build unity between the peoples of Latin America in what Petro calls the “politics of life”, ending the system of economic and ecological extraction that has devastated the continent through centuries of colonial and neo-colonial rule.
And the victory in Colombia marks a major step forward for our Progressive International. For a third time this year, a member of the Progressive International has won a presidential election — Gabriel Boric in Chile, Xiomara Castro in Honduras, and now Gustavo Petro in Colombia — while delegations from our Observatory were on the ground throughout the election to help ensure the integrity, transparency, and fairness of the democratic process.
Today, we celebrate this victory with our friends, allies, and members in Colombia. Tomorrow, we join them in the construction of a new world.
Photo: Francia Márquez Mina/Twitter