Colombian senator Gustavo Petro – who wants to tax the rich and reduce the economy’s dependence on fossil fuels – continues to have a wide advantage over his rivals heading into the 2022 presidential election.
The former guerrilla, popular among the poorest Colombians and students and feared by many investors, leads with a support of 26% just before the vote next May, in a poll conducted by the firm Datexco and published by On the radio.
However, there are two candidates who would beat Petro in a second round, according to the survey.
Sergio Fajardo, a former math teacher who was mayor of Colombia’s second-largest city, Medellín, came in second, with 10% of voting intentions, according to the survey.
They followed Rodolfo Hernandez, former mayor of the city of Bucaramanga, with 7%; the former mayor of Medellín Federico Gutierrez and the former Minister of Health Alejandro Gaviria, both with 6%; and the former senator Juan Manuel Galán, with 5%.
In a second round, Petro would beat all 10 candidates in the poll, except Fajardo and Galán, who are considered center candidates.
The 1,200-person survey was conducted October 15-26 and has a 2.9% margin of error.
Colombia, a US ally that has never had a leftist leader, holds presidential elections in May and a possible second round in June. Petro reached the second round in the 2018 elections, but lost to Iván Duque, who is now president. The Constitution prohibits Duque from seeking a second term.
A survey from March Detaxco, which used a different methodology, also showed Petro with a wide advantage.
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