Colombians Vote in Election That Could See Ex-Leftist Rebel Win Presidency
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BOGOTÁ, Colombia—Voters began casting ballots Sunday in a presidential election that pits six candidates against each other, one of them a former leftist guerrilla whose pledge to upend the country’s economic system has given him a comfortable lead in the polls.
Gustavo Petro, a 62-year-old former member of the M-19 rebel group that disarmed in 1990, had as much as 41% support in recent polls, topping Federico Gutiérrez, a 47-year-old former mayor of Medellin who has the support of President Iván Duque’s conservative party, and a 77-year-old populist real-estate tycoon, Rodolfo Hernández.
