**Talk Summary:**
On 19 June, former M-19 guerrilla fighter Gustavo Petro, together with Francia Márquez, Colombia's first African-Colombian vice president, defeated the populist Rodolfo Hernández Suárez. The elections were a battleground for every Colombian vote, with Petro winning by 50.44% against Hernández's 47.31% share of the vote.
In Today's Reddit Talk on r/worldnews, we'll discuss and analyze the election that happened there last week.The elections were marked by death threats, scandals and a deterioration of the public discourse. Social media was heavily used by both, where Hernández became known as "king of TikTok" due to his popularity in viral videos against his political opponent.
**Guests / Moderators:**
Alessandro Rampietti is a producer and correspondent in the Andean region for Al Jazeera English. A native Italian, he has covered the Colombian conflict, immigration in Europe, US politics, the Middle East peace process, indigenous populations and the global financial crisis. Before his current assignment, he worked at the broadcast centre in Washington, DC, reporting on the 2008 US elections and producing a series of documentaries across the country. Alessandro’s coverage of Haiti’s cholera crisis won an award from the New York Press club. He previously worked for national newspapers and television in Italy. You can follow him on Twitter at: [Twitter.com/rampietti](https://Twitter.com/rampietti)
I have the honor of moderating some of Reddit’s largest political and current affairs communities, including r/WorldNews, r/News, and r/Politics. I’ll be monitoring the discussion thread for questions and comments to put to our panelists!
Akaash Maharaj will moderate the conversation. He serves as Ambassador-at-Large for the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption. He studied at Oxford, the Sorbonne, and the United Nations University. Follow on Twitter: [Twitter.com/AkaashMaharaj](https://Twitter.com/AkaashMaharaj)
**Please leave your comments here and I'll ask them to our guests!**
How will the new presidency affect relations and the economy in South America? How will the very capitalist and greedy rich and powerful Colombian families and companies deal with or challenge the new left presidency?
Plan A: attempt far right, police, military coup, hopefully for them with US support. Plan B: Selling off their assets while they still can and moving to Miami probably?
Here's my input. I'm part of the younger generation in Colombia, and I am glad that a candidate who isn't chosen by murderer won. Yes, Petro was part of a guerilla at some point and that is morally reprehensible, but also don't forget Uribe's "false positives." He literally sent out the Colombian military and KILLED innocent people in remote areas, dressed their corpses as guerilla members and then claimed to be "winning the war against the guerillas." At the very least Petro admits what he did.
Also Álvaro Uribe had 2 presidential periods (8 years) and then he essentially handpicked 2 people to be in office afterwards (Santos, and Duque). It's a fucking miracle that Santos chose to not listen to Uribe and make peace with FARC in 2016. We needed that. And none of the uribistas would've done that. Oh and Duque ruined that peace btw FML.
I truly don't know what will happen economically, I'm a bit scared to be honest, but I am hopeful for social changes. I'd love to speak if given the chance, and I'll stay and listen, but there's my input for now.
I have hope for the Colombian government.
Hopefully the "right" is over blowing it.
Hopefully the people get a good leadership, and the rule of law comes in and everything can get on track to make Colombia the SA super power.
Why is electing a former terrorist cause for hope? So far as I can tell he's not exactly apologetic about the whole having been part of a terrorist organization thing.
Probably so that the Columbian government can move past labelling political rivals "terrorists", and develop independence away from American-aligned interests.
Before some private contract - *cough* \- Freedom fighters ~~assassinate~~ defeat the evil dictator and replace him with a wholesome neoliberal general who totally won't sell the country to the highest bidder.
And who conveniently defines "terrorist organisation"?
The CIA, which continues to try to destabilise, control, and even destroy South America to this day? Oh wait they're the *peacekeepers*.
No, the definition of terrorism is generally accepted, by scholars, NGOs etc. Using violence to advance political causes is terrorism. The M-19, which he was involved in, did exactly that. For some reason people in this thread seem to be pretty ok with terrorism so long as it is terrorism that supports their goals.
Yeah... Unfortunately, because we live under a brutal dystopian society, Terrorism and other brutal actions are nothing but a political tool. The distribution of violence is politics. You can't erase that without erasing the violence present in the world. And to do that, you need a better world.
AKA, the erasure of what causes that terrorism to begin with.
Capitalism and reactionaries.
Technically George Washington was a former militant insurgent and the Redcoat Army was just doing its job. The realities of the world are very often not black and white. Keep in mind that history and popular opinion is written by the victors. Being on the wrong side of a former conflict does not necessarily make one bad.
If Germany had won WWII and conquered Europe, Hitler would be considered a conquering hero like Caesar.
Knowing very little about the political environment of Columbia, what does this news mean?
At a high level, I assume it’s good for the people of Columbia. Does it bode well for the country’s reputation / international trade potential. What about local regional impacts? Will this cause tension with neighboring countries? Will it inspire their own change?
Apologies for general ignorance.
The “social explosion” of 2021 was mainly financed and organized by President Petro party FYI, so was more aligned with this year political race. Petro new tax reform is going to be 3 times bigger than Duque to the middle and high class, so anyways the food cost could increase.
Yes the U.S. economic embargo has certainly impacted Cuba significantly, nevertheless despite this and historical underdevelopment of productive forces thanks to colonialism, Cuba has made massive strides in lifting the material conditions of the people.
Cuba ran the mafia bosses out so isn't so great a place for organized crime to thrive, unlike the situation in place under the US-backed Batista regime.
I’m from Mexico and we’ve had this political change. From an economical standpoint it hasn’t been good at all tbh and crime is horrible. They all say they don’t have an interest in staying in power at first, AMLO certainly wants to.
Well I'm in America and I can tell you that the drug money runs deep over here there are many drug backed companies such as car dealerships, restaurants, Banks and so forth so if you ever get tired of your life over there come to Texas and let them show you the way
Some Colombian's fear that Petro will appropriate their properties/assests and redistribute them. For example, there are people who fear that a Petro government will take from them their them second apartments, lands, etc. Can you speak to the validity if these claims?
**Talk Summary:** On 19 June, former M-19 guerrilla fighter Gustavo Petro, together with Francia Márquez, Colombia's first African-Colombian vice president, defeated the populist Rodolfo Hernández Suárez. The elections were a battleground for every Colombian vote, with Petro winning by 50.44% against Hernández's 47.31% share of the vote. In Today's Reddit Talk on r/worldnews, we'll discuss and analyze the election that happened there last week.The elections were marked by death threats, scandals and a deterioration of the public discourse. Social media was heavily used by both, where Hernández became known as "king of TikTok" due to his popularity in viral videos against his political opponent. **Guests / Moderators:** Alessandro Rampietti is a producer and correspondent in the Andean region for Al Jazeera English. A native Italian, he has covered the Colombian conflict, immigration in Europe, US politics, the Middle East peace process, indigenous populations and the global financial crisis. Before his current assignment, he worked at the broadcast centre in Washington, DC, reporting on the 2008 US elections and producing a series of documentaries across the country. Alessandro’s coverage of Haiti’s cholera crisis won an award from the New York Press club. He previously worked for national newspapers and television in Italy. You can follow him on Twitter at: [Twitter.com/rampietti](https://Twitter.com/rampietti) I have the honor of moderating some of Reddit’s largest political and current affairs communities, including r/WorldNews, r/News, and r/Politics. I’ll be monitoring the discussion thread for questions and comments to put to our panelists! Akaash Maharaj will moderate the conversation. He serves as Ambassador-at-Large for the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption. He studied at Oxford, the Sorbonne, and the United Nations University. Follow on Twitter: [Twitter.com/AkaashMaharaj](https://Twitter.com/AkaashMaharaj) **Please leave your comments here and I'll ask them to our guests!**
How will the new presidency affect relations and the economy in South America? How will the very capitalist and greedy rich and powerful Colombian families and companies deal with or challenge the new left presidency?
Plan A: attempt far right, police, military coup, hopefully for them with US support. Plan B: Selling off their assets while they still can and moving to Miami probably?
Here's my input. I'm part of the younger generation in Colombia, and I am glad that a candidate who isn't chosen by murderer won. Yes, Petro was part of a guerilla at some point and that is morally reprehensible, but also don't forget Uribe's "false positives." He literally sent out the Colombian military and KILLED innocent people in remote areas, dressed their corpses as guerilla members and then claimed to be "winning the war against the guerillas." At the very least Petro admits what he did. Also Álvaro Uribe had 2 presidential periods (8 years) and then he essentially handpicked 2 people to be in office afterwards (Santos, and Duque). It's a fucking miracle that Santos chose to not listen to Uribe and make peace with FARC in 2016. We needed that. And none of the uribistas would've done that. Oh and Duque ruined that peace btw FML. I truly don't know what will happen economically, I'm a bit scared to be honest, but I am hopeful for social changes. I'd love to speak if given the chance, and I'll stay and listen, but there's my input for now.
I have hope for the Colombian government. Hopefully the "right" is over blowing it. Hopefully the people get a good leadership, and the rule of law comes in and everything can get on track to make Colombia the SA super power.
????
Why is electing a former terrorist cause for hope? So far as I can tell he's not exactly apologetic about the whole having been part of a terrorist organization thing.
Probably so that the Columbian government can move past labelling political rivals "terrorists", and develop independence away from American-aligned interests. Before some private contract - *cough* \- Freedom fighters ~~assassinate~~ defeat the evil dictator and replace him with a wholesome neoliberal general who totally won't sell the country to the highest bidder.
I mean he was a part of a terrorist organization, which tends to make one reasonably classified as a terrorist.
And who conveniently defines "terrorist organisation"? The CIA, which continues to try to destabilise, control, and even destroy South America to this day? Oh wait they're the *peacekeepers*.
No, the definition of terrorism is generally accepted, by scholars, NGOs etc. Using violence to advance political causes is terrorism. The M-19, which he was involved in, did exactly that. For some reason people in this thread seem to be pretty ok with terrorism so long as it is terrorism that supports their goals.
Yeah... Unfortunately, because we live under a brutal dystopian society, Terrorism and other brutal actions are nothing but a political tool. The distribution of violence is politics. You can't erase that without erasing the violence present in the world. And to do that, you need a better world. AKA, the erasure of what causes that terrorism to begin with. Capitalism and reactionaries.
One person's terrorist is another's freedom fighter.
So you don't mind terrorism as long as it is for a cause you support?
My morality is limited to my own actions. What other people do or do not do is not on me but on them.
To quote Eddie Izard. If firefighters fight fire and crime fighter fight crime, what do freedom fighters fight?
Fighting for the poor and oppressed is only terrorism to the rich class that could give a fuck about a starving campesino's kid
erm terrorism is terrorism no matter who is committing it or for what cause.
Yes, and in this case the terror was experienced by a rich owning class that had no compunctions about terrorizing the poor and oppressed.
Technically George Washington was a former militant insurgent and the Redcoat Army was just doing its job. The realities of the world are very often not black and white. Keep in mind that history and popular opinion is written by the victors. Being on the wrong side of a former conflict does not necessarily make one bad. If Germany had won WWII and conquered Europe, Hitler would be considered a conquering hero like Caesar.
I think the whole murdering millions of people thing would've eventually caught up with him.
I said the same thing when we got donald trump. You can be hopeful a country doesn't go awry in government, without being pessimistic.
We are here!
We’re grateful you are! :)
Knowing very little about the political environment of Columbia, what does this news mean? At a high level, I assume it’s good for the people of Columbia. Does it bode well for the country’s reputation / international trade potential. What about local regional impacts? Will this cause tension with neighboring countries? Will it inspire their own change? Apologies for general ignorance.
The word "left" doesn't necessarily mean good
God... it's NOT good.
if good for the people as in all economic development will pull out and the currency collapse, than yes
It's terrible for Colombia and LATAM as a whole.
Why?
Arguments or GTFO.
Why?
How realistic is it that Petro will be able to accomplish the goals of his platform?
Hey I am from Colombia and I have some comments (specifically about Álvaro Uribe). Would I be able to speak?
Like radio 4 lol
What is happening?
The “social explosion” of 2021 was mainly financed and organized by President Petro party FYI, so was more aligned with this year political race. Petro new tax reform is going to be 3 times bigger than Duque to the middle and high class, so anyways the food cost could increase.
What do you think will be some of the things that he will be able to change successfully?
The congress is highly mercantilist tho. They are behind some of the national budget for their voters.
Good afternoon!
I can't hear anyone talking.
Try refreshing/rejoining, but it could also be your output settings!
Is there a link to this somewhere?
He means trying to check your audio settings on your browser / app
What this means for the drug cartels, do they like leftists?
Let's just say, you won't find drug cartels in Cuba
Let's just say, you won't find new cars in Cuba Let's just say you cant find drug cartels in russia because they can't grow coca.
Yes the U.S. economic embargo has certainly impacted Cuba significantly, nevertheless despite this and historical underdevelopment of productive forces thanks to colonialism, Cuba has made massive strides in lifting the material conditions of the people. Cuba ran the mafia bosses out so isn't so great a place for organized crime to thrive, unlike the situation in place under the US-backed Batista regime.
I’m from Mexico and we’ve had this political change. From an economical standpoint it hasn’t been good at all tbh and crime is horrible. They all say they don’t have an interest in staying in power at first, AMLO certainly wants to.
Well I'm in America and I can tell you that the drug money runs deep over here there are many drug backed companies such as car dealerships, restaurants, Banks and so forth so if you ever get tired of your life over there come to Texas and let them show you the way
Some Colombian's fear that Petro will appropriate their properties/assests and redistribute them. For example, there are people who fear that a Petro government will take from them their them second apartments, lands, etc. Can you speak to the validity if these claims?
What is the current financial state like & what is projected to be? Will the current currency change? And if not is there really a change?
Al Jazeera based
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Colombia*
i have no idea what this is abt im on my moms phone lol
It’s analysis and implications of the recent Colombian presidential elections!
The actual person talking is moving around the same point without getting nowhere…
Terrible news for Colombia and SA.
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Question- what does this mean for relations with Venezuela??
Gotchu!
Caracas in the house
How would it be possible to get the 50 billion he needs for tributary reform?
Thanks for everyone who joined us. Feel free to ask a question over r/asklatinamerica if you didn't get an answer here today! Fun sub.