‘Fico’, the dam against the dreaded tide of the left in Colombia

Federico Gutiérrez, solemn, asks for a prayer for the uniformed men killed by the violence in Colombia. In front of him are banners against communism. An audience with few young people surrounds him in applause when the candidate promises to defeat left-wing “authoritarian populism”.

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GutierrezWith a jovial appearance, messy hair and simple speech, he feels at ease. He is not a grandiloquent or stage politician. His thing, he insists, is being on the street talking to people. But this time, in one of his rare appearances in the public square, he moves with his speech.

“phyco”, as this 47-year-old civil engineer, who flies the flags of “order and tranquility”, likes to be called, is in conservative lands, in the Coffee Region where the right concentrates its support for the elections on May 29 . Guerrillas, paramilitaries and drug traffickers have left a trail of blood and deep resentment.

Gutierrez hands out kisses and handshakes before going up to a boardwalk in the city of Armenia. Sing the anthem of Colombia, observes a minute of silence for the police and military fallen in the conflict. Later he mentions so many “other people” victims of violence.

In an hour of intervention, he offers support to the productive field and free enterprise. And it promises to “confront without fear” the groups that remain in arms after the peace agreement with the then FARC guerrilla.

-Mission ballot-

While the senator and former guerrilla Gustavo Petro leads the polls in the rest of the country; In the coffee departments of Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda, the balance is tilted by this former mayor of Medellín (2016-2019), who could force a ballot scheduled for June 19.

“We are going to defeat any populist and authoritarian project that stands in the way!” proclaims Gutiérrez, campaigning in jeans and sneakers.

Although he avoids ideological labels, “phyco” represents a coalition of right-wing forces, including the ruling party. However, he barely refers to the unpopular government of Iván Duque and has avoided appearing near former President Álvaro Uribe, the head of the ruling party disgraced by his legal troubles.

According to the firm Invamer, in Antioquia, whose capital is Medellín, and the coffee region “phyco” has 49.8% voting intention against 27.5% of Petro.

The posters with the image of the first, the youngest of the seven presidential candidates, are everywhere, unlike those of his adversary, which hardly appear.

At the beginning of May, Petro suspended a tour of this area due to suspicions of a plan to kill him. The leftwhich is still associated by many with the armed struggle and the communist ghost, has never governed and its rise scares the elites.

– “Non-communists” –

In Armenian, “phyco” walks between signs written with phrases like “not communists” or “we are not terrorists”. She greets military veterans, some with war wounds. A group of faithful Catholics and evangelicals come out to meet him. The candidate, who in his speeches usually refers to God as “the one above”, welcomes a rosary that he wears around his neck.

As mayor of Medellin, the second city of Colombia, raised the flags of security and officiated as a police officer against organized crime. He uploaded to the networks videos of himself patrolling, alongside uniformed men, through dangerous neighborhoods. He finished his tenure with over 80% popularity.

At the end of his speech, he pays attention to AFP for a few minutes. He says he is worried because Colombia is “swimming in coca” – the raw material for cocaine – and promises a “strong state against” the mafias.

At your next stop, in Pereira, a 45-minute drive from Armenia, villagers in hats and ponchos await. From another platform, located in front of a statue of Simón Bolívar on horseback, Gutiérrez promises them better routes for transporting coffee and cheaper fertilizers.

A businessman appears on the scene. He wears a T-shirt with the legend “I IDENTIFY ME”, with the last four letters highlighted, and hands the candidate a large-scale replica of a card that accredits him as “pereirano forever”.

Without ever mentioning Petro, Gutiérrez goes on the attack. Others “want to expropriate to put an end to Colombia”, we “are going to appropriate the territories”, he says. The public applauds furiously.

“All of us paisas, as those of us from the Coffee Region are called (…) we identify a lot with their way of speaking, of thinking,” says Gloria Montoya, a 68-year-old housewife.

“We are not leftists, we are liberals, we are rightists,” says the woman wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “phycothe president of the people”.

Source: Elcomercio

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