Is Colombia ready for a hard-left Gustavo Petro presidency?

To start, it might help to consider the leading candidate, Gustavo Petro’s penchant for violence. As a young M-19 guerrilla in the 1980’s (the rebel group most infamous for the 1985 storming of the Colombian Palace of Justice ), Petro’s nom-de-guerre “Aureliano,” depicted his admiration of the lonely warrior figure of Gabriel García Márquez’ One Hundred Years of Solitude. Now, a self-described “Derridaist”, after the French deconstructionist intellectual, Jacques Derrida, the candidate’s violent leanings have transmuted to political ambition.

Deconstructionism as a political concept was linked to neofascism when Trump strategist Steve Bannon expressed it as “deconstructing the administrative state”.  It’s an apt description – Petro proposes immediately deconstructing many of Colombia’s well-established and high-functioning institutions- from the national pension program, the Colombian oil industry, to redistribution of social security funds and dismantling the health system.

If Petro’s adherence to elements of the neofascist playbook, like repression of critics, his declared intention to seize control of private assets, befriending of dictators, and openly lying are any clue, Colombia is about to elect an anti-establishment president who could destroy decades of democratic and economic progress.

According to Gideon Long and Michael Stott of The Financial Times, the candidate’s radical positions could jeopardize its longstanding relationship with the US. Threats of a coup or election postponement by Petro’s supporters have the “country…on edge”.

Democracy in the world at large is in an existential battle for survival. From Victor Orban’s populism in Hungary, to Venezuelan Chavismo, disgruntled populations of previously open and democratic countries are turning to authoritarianism for stability. According to Zach Beaucamp of Vox media, this new style of dictatorship, made possible by the reactionary voting in of a charismatic popular leader has a new name: soft fascism.

The turbulent setting in Colombia today positions it perfectly for soft-fascist takeover. The gap between traditional centrism (the party of current president Ivan Duque) and anti-establishmentarianism was exacerbated by the violent 2021 protests, which killed at least 21 and wounded thousands. Much of the anti-government ire was fueled by Russian disinformation propaganda which stoked confusion and discontent, according to a recent CIA investigation.

BETTER QUESTION – IS THE US READY FOR ITS LAST ALLY IN SOUTH AMERICA TO FALL TO COMMUNISM? -NCS