Who is the engineer Rodolfo Hernández, the millionaire “tropical Trump” turned into the outsider in Colombia

The engineer and Rodolfo Hernandez are two concepts already inseparable in the political landscape of Colombiaespecially in a race in which this tycoon has championed his status as an “outsider” to try to win the Presidency and govern through controversy.

The “Colombian tropical Trump”, as some refer to him, he did not have many real chances, according to the first projections, of achieving a victory at the polls; he was unknown to most Colombians, with the exception of the department of Santander, where he grew up and made his fortune.

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But Hernandezcandidate of the movement League of Anti-Corruption Rulerscreated by him and that does not define himself politically although his proposals tend more towards populism, he has become the surprise of the campaign: the polls bring him ever closer to a second place that would give him a ticket to the second round where he would face off at the polls with the leftist Gustavo Petro.

Colombia’s independent presidential candidate Rodolfo Hernández speaks alongside former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt in Barranquilla, on May 20, 2022. (Jeison Gutiérrez / AFP)

THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ENGINEER

The successful and millionaire businessmanaway from traditional politics and Colombian castes, began his career in Bucaramanga, capital of the department of Santander, in the northeast of the country.

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He was born in that region, into a working-class family, in 1945, specifically in Piedecuesta, the land that rewarded him with the millions he now has in his account after entering the business of building social housing.

Hernandez He is married to Socorro Oliveros and has four children: Juliana, who disappeared after being kidnapped by the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) in 2004, Luis Carlos, Mauricio and Rodolfo José.

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Already in that campaign that catapulted him into politics, he made the word “engineer” inseparable from his name., precisely trying to give the image that since he was already rich, he did not need to steal from public coffers to swell his pockets. Something that worked for him and has accompanied him in his race for the Presidency.

A Bucaramanga he came to power from his home: he bought the apartment across the street, where he set up an office where he received everyone. His eccentricities also followed him to the Mayor’s Office, where every Monday he broadcast his popular “Talk to the Mayor” on Facebook, which earned him a couple of controversies.

Businessman Rodolfo Hernández, candidate for the presidency of Colombia, speaks during a campaign event in Cartagena. (EFE/Ricardo Maldonado Rozo).

SHARP TONGUE

But without any doubt, what has most marked his presence in the political scene has been his character, with a tendency to the picturesque and tawdry, and without any fear of confrontation, in which he has worked on his quality of always coming out unscathed.

Hernández is an “attractive candidate” because he has innovative ideas, if you like unorthodox, and “transmits them without filters, something that can connect with voters,” political analyst Felipe Botero explains in an interview with Efe, adding that it does not mean that these are “plausible.”

The engineer He came to the race for the Presidency with some controversies behind him, such as an interview where he assured that he admired Adolf Hitler or when he hit an opposition councilor from the Bucaramanga Mayor’s Office, something that led to his suspension from his position.

His campaign, like the one that brought him to the mayor’s office, has been based on a speech from which he makes a voracious criticism against corrupt practices, widely spread in Colombia, as well as against traditional politicians, whom he accuses of all the evils that the country suffers.

Despite this speech that has become a flag, Hernández is involved in a corruption case dating back to his time as mayor. The Prosecutor’s Office accuses him of entering into a consultancy contract for the management of garbage in Bucaramanga with alleged irregularities, for which it will not be known if he is responsible until the trial is held, scheduled for after the elections.

WHO VOTES FOR RODOLFO

The success of engineer he is in the regions, especially in the “santanderes”, referring to his native Santander and the neighboring department of Norte de Santander. Unlike the other candidates, Hernandez he has not toured the country in rallies in public squares but in small meetings with supporters.

His “explosive and rebellious” personality, as well as somewhat “authoritarian and intolerant”, is what “people like”, considers Viveros.

But Hernandez He has proven to be “a bit naive about how democratic institutions work and this can work against him”, since he “believes that the president has a capacity” to make decisions that he does not really have.

If he becomes president, Hernández will not have a party in Congress, something that could lead to difficulties when governing.

Despite all the obstacles that come his way, the engineer “goes all out” and continues with a presidential campaign with a strong presence on social networks.

And this May 29, his greatest aspiration to date is played at the polls, to lead Colombia.

Source: Elcomercio