How social media propelled 77-year old construction magnate into Colombia’s presidential front-runner

Rodolfo Hernandez — a little-known onetime mayor of a provincial city — is the favourite for the June 19 runoff as he turned the tables on presidential rival Gustavo PetroThe social media campaign that propelled a 77-year-old construction magnate into Colombia’s presidential runoff deliberately cultivated his image as an anti-politician to tap voter anger against the political class, according to the strategist who helped devise it.

The first round catapulted Hernandez from little-known onetime mayor of a provincial city into the favourite for the June 19 runoff. He turned the tables on presidential rival Gustavo Petro, 62, a senator and former mayor of Bogota who had been tipped to become Colombia’s first leftist leader.

The campaign highlighted public works projects Hernandez built during his time as mayor of Bucaramanga in northeastern Colombia and adopted slogans such as “there’s enough money when no-one steals,” a popular refrain of Bukele’s during his 2019 ascent to power. Yet Hernandez’s economic programme remains largely a blank slate, while his anti-corruption focus is tarnished by the fact that he’s being investigated for potential irregularities in tendering public contracts while mayor.

Petro, who has criticised Hernandez by saying that graft can’t be stomped out with TikTok videos, seems to be taking note: He’s no longer holding campaign rallies across the country.The unpredictable race in Colombia comes on the back of a series of defeats for ruling parties across the region, as inequalities that were exposed by the pandemic and deepened by inflation shake up politics.

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