Presidential election in Colombia: Petro promises that there will be no nationalization if he wins

Gustavo Petro, the left-wing Colombian presidential candidate, here on March 29, 2022 in Bogota.

AP - Fernando Vergara

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

In Colombia, less than six weeks before the first round of the presidential election, the left-wing candidate is trying to reassure centrist voters.

The favorite in the polls has pledged not to carry out any nationalization if he is elected president on May 29 or during a ballot in mid-June.

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Gustavo Petro wanted to give a solemn framework to his statement.

It is therefore in a notary's office in Bogota and under oath that the left-wing candidate for the presidency signed a document.

In this text, the former guerrilla and his candidate for the vice-presidency, the Afro-Colombian ecologist Francia Marquez, promise respect for the private property of every Colombian. 

Gustavo Petro proposes to increase the taxes of the richest and to " 

 " access to land.

A program, of course, of " 

" of Colombian society, but which "

 ", assures the candidate.

A symbolic commitment

The current senator thus hopes to pull the rug out from under the feet of his right-wing opponent.

Federico Gutierrez continues to call the poll favorite an “ 

 ” and raises the threat of nationalizations by comparing him to

. 

Constitutionalists have already warned: Gustavo Petro's written and sworn commitment is only symbolic.

The Colombian Constitution indeed authorizes expropriations if they are compensated and in the interest of the community. 

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