Rodolfo Hernández, the outspoken populist who surprises and goes to the second round in Colombia | PROFILE

Rodolfo Hernandezan outspoken independent populist and businessman from outside the major cities, stormed into the final stretch of the presidential campaign in Colombia by showing in the polls options to get into a second round against the leftist candidate Gustavo Petro.

With a speech focused on corruption and without cutting himself in tone or form, the “engineer”, as his followers recognize him, has captured all eyes these days and today he celebrated his last public acts: meetings with “rodolfistas” in hotels in the Caribbean Cartagena de Indias and Barranquilla and the adhesion to his campaign of Ingrid Betancourtwho gave up his presidential aspiration to support him.

Rodolfo Hernández shows up at the Santander school voting center in Bucaramanga, Colombia. (EFE).

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“Today I have made the decision to support the only candidate who can defeat the system today,” said Betancourtcandidate of the Oxygen Green Party, who did not even reach 1% in the voting intention polls.

The candidate for the presidency of Colombia Rodolfo Hernández raises his arms with Íngrid Betancourt, presidential candidate until this Friday, during a campaign event in Barranquilla. (EFE/ Str).

Betancourt and Hernández share a common discourse of fighting corruption and looting, and against traditional politics and what the former senator calls “machinery.”

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The Green Oxygen candidate is the second to withdraw from the contest, after the former governor of Antioquia Luis Pérez, and therefore leaves the elections with six candidates who aspire to reach Casa Nariño.

CRITICISM TO THE “THIEF POLITICIANS”

Hernández took advantage of his acts in the Caribbean to criticize the “thieving politicians” that they have the country “immersed in poverty” and assured: “what is serious is not that, it is that every four years we elect the same thieves again.”

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The 77-year-old candidate argued that “It would be disrespectful” to talk about himself in front of his followers, but he did say of Petro that “he has never worked: he has not worked for 40 years, living off the state.”

And about the second in the polls, the right-wing Federico “Fico” Gutiérrez, pointed out that “it is the oldest oligarchy, conservative and liberal, that has these results against the desire for change that Colombians have right now.”

LAST SURVEYS

Until now, everything indicated that Petrowithout adding to win in a first round on May 29, would have to face Gutierrezformer mayor of Medellín, but the two have not been able to attract more supporters in the polls for weeks, while Hernández has gone from just 8% of voting intention in February to almost 21% in some polls.

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

The Invamer survey for Blu Radio, Noticias Caracol and El Espectador released this Friday indicates that Petroof the leftist Historical Pact, he is still the favorite although he drops 3 points and retains 40.6% of the voting intentions, against 27.1% of “Fico” Gutiérrez, candidate of the right-wing Team for Colombia. In the previous measurement they were at 43.6% and 26.7%, respectively.

That is Hernández is six percentage points behind “Fico” Gutiérrez, in a comeback that opens up new spaces for the first round of the presidential elections, which will take place in ten days, and especially a very possible second round.

In fact, while a second Petro-“Fico” contest would give the first a wide victory with 52.7% compared to 44.2% that the former mayor of Medellín would get, if the game is between Petro and Hernández the distance is would shorten to almost a tie at 50% and 47.4%, respectively.

THE PROPOSALS OF HERNÁNDEZ

In favor of the engineer is that, according to the firm National Consulting Center (CNC), he likes and has a better image than the other two candidates, with 44% favorability and 17% disfavour.

The candidate, who was mayor of Bucaramanga, a medium-sized city in the northeast of the country, does not want to define his positions on the right or the left and his announcements of measures seek to cause an impact and gather votes.

If Hernández is elected president, he says that he will make donations to those most in need as he did when he was mayor of Bucaramanga and that he will indefinitely suspend the operation and functioning of vehicles and other equipment intended for the use of senators and representatives to the Chamber. .

Independent presidential candidate Rodolfo Hernández speaks during his visit to Piedecuesta, Colombia. (EFE / Marco Valencia).

He would also sign a decree to suppress the presidential councils, giving greater functions to the office of the Vice Presidency of the Republic.

Equally would substantially reduce the expenses in the operation of the Casa de Nariño, headquarters of the Executiveand for this reason it would suspend the operation and use of the fleet of planes, helicopters, vehicles and other equipment destined for the use of the president, vice president and ministers.

Also I would not use the Cartagena Illustrious Guest House or the Hato Grande Hacienda again, which is on the outskirts of Bogotá and where the presidents meet with their government teams to plan strategies of all kinds.

While today’s eyes were on HernandezPetro faces a challenge in one of the opposition strongholds, Medellín, while “Fico” will have a meeting with supporters in Barranquilla.

All the candidates are facing these days the last public events with acts in the main cities before the great closing of the campaign this Sunday, just a week before the first electoral round.

Source: Elcomercio