Leer en Español
Left-wing extremist Gustavo Petro triumphed in the second round of Sunday’s presidential elections in Colombia. He thus becomes the first explicit socialist, the first former guerrilla militant and the first one supported by the terrorist group FARC to become Colombia’s president.
Petro’s triumph means an earthquake for the Colombian economy, and it is a matter of hours before we see how the markets have reacted. But, above all, Petro’s triumph is an earthquake for the continent.
When the whole region was under the spell of 21st century socialism, Colombia avoided it and, until today, was the only country in Latin America that had not yielded to the Castroist model of the Bolivarian Revolution. Meanwhile, Colombia consolidated itself as a great ally of the United States, not only in the fight against drug trafficking in Colombia and the rest of Latin America, but also in the containment of all threats coming from Venezuela. Gustavo Petro arrived to put an end to that and pushes Colombia into the drift of 21st century socialism.
From the completely red region, during the Chavez years, a backward movement began, and during 2019 almost all countries were allies of the United States. A few months later, Latin America is again stained red, and it is a monumental failure for Washington.
In an interview with El American, Cato Institute analyst Daniel Raisbeck told us that if Petro won in Colombia, it would be a defeat for the United States as big and with as many implications as Afghanistan. The reality is that it is still premature to measure the impact that a radical leftist Petro government will have on the region; however, it is important to raise the alarm.
The United States has abandoned its backyard. Washington’s neglect has resulted in the most important and longest criminal front in history being forged just a few kilometers from Miami. A red region will allow China, Russia and Iran to enter the area that the United States should be influencing. The consequences will be unimaginable.
Orlando Avendaño is the co-editor-in-chief of El American. He is a Venezuelan journalist and has studies in the History of Venezuela. He is the author of the book Days of submission // Orlando Avendaño es el co-editor en Jefe de El American. Es periodista venezolano y cuenta con estudios en Historia de Venezuela. Es autor del libro Días de sumisión.