Colombia The populist Rodolfo Hernández gives the surprise in the elections in Colombia and will go to the second round with the leftist Petro
Elections Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla to the third assault on Casa Nariño
He doesn't mince words, he speaks without filters, clear and direct, he dyes his hair red,
he is spontaneous, reckless and likes to break the mold
.
She demonstrated it last Sunday, when the results of the presidential elections in Colombia were known.
He had been the star of the day, the big surprise of the elections,
displacing the favorite from the center right
, and he could take advantage of his moment of glory.
But Rodolfo Hernández wants to make it clear that he has nothing to do with the classic politician and
he is not willing to waste money either.
He chose the spacious and impeccable kitchen of his country chalet, bare of decorations, as the stage to
deliver the most anticipated speech
in his incipient career as a candidate for President, and he dispatched it in three minutes.
Through his social networks, which were broadcast live,
he thanked his almost six million voters for their trust
, reminded them that they had defeated the corrupt, said goodbye and went to bed.
The country, which is beginning to get to know him, learned that
he goes to bed very early, around 7:00 p.m.,
when it is dark in Colombia, and gets up around 4:00 a.m.
And that he did not see the need to hire a hotel just to address his compatriots on a platform, when he could do it for free from his house.
Rodolfo Hernández with his wife, Socorro OliverosCedida
At 77 years old,
the "engineer", as they often call him, does not intend to change his habits
or allow himself to be dragged by political paraphernalia.
"He can be President by going to bed at seven or eight and
starting work at five or six,"
he says serenely, although he is a man of strong character, with prompts that have given him more than one dislike.
Like when he
slapped a councilman who got on his nerves
.
The scene was recorded, it went viral, and someone turned it into an emoticon that now his followers apologize with an undisguised smile.
"The stone is not quickly removed (from his squares), they have to fuck him up and provoke him a lot so that he pushes himself.
But he has a great sense of humor "
, explains to LOC Ángel Becassino, his main advisor.
Married and the father of four children, Hernández advanced the expenses of his austere
electoral campaign out of his own pocket so as not to owe favors to anyone
, a luxury within his reach.
Hard-working and visionary for business, he amassed a fortune of about
one hundred million dollars with HG Construcciones
, the company he founded with his wife Socorro Oliveros.
That is why he
donated his salary as mayor
when he governed the destinies of Bucaramanga, the prosperous city in northwestern Colombia
,
located just fourteen kilometers from Piedecuesta
,
the town where he was born and has the chalet where he goes on weekends.
And he will do the same with the President's salary.
Rodolfo Hernández presents his candidacy for the presidency of ColombiaCedida
"He has worked like crazy since he was 20 years old.
He has achieved everything with the sweat of his brow,"
his son Rodolfo José, who usually accompanies him and is a voice that listens, tells this newspaper.
Hernández also announced that he does not intend to reside in the Palacio Nariño, which he will turn into a museum, but in
his apartment in Bogotá, valued at the equivalent of about 800,000 euros
.
And that he will reduce to the maximum both the fleet of official cars and that of aircraft at the service of the government and other personalities, and
he will dispense with the legion of advisers that surround
the presidents to keep the essential ones.
Among them, he may keep the handful of young people who convinced him to popularize his image through
funny and daring messages on TikTok,
since hardly anyone knew of his existence outside his region.
They achieved such an overwhelming success that each video used to be around a million views and
some went up to 4 million.
Electoral poster of Rodolfo HernándezCedida
While he was in these conflicts, his wife Socorro, with whom he has been married for half a century,
took over the reins of the company
and got fully involved in controlling the finances of the electoral campaign.
70 years old and an interior designer, at first she thought it was crazy that her husband would trade the construction firm for her political adventures.
But she ended up accepting the first jump to the town hall
and this second one, which represents a radical change for both of them if they were to beat their rival, Gustavo Petro, on June 19.
She would not like to have to move from her temperate Bucaramanga to cold Bogotá and, worse still, endure the intense social life that they impose on the First Lady.
Although the marriage
offers the image of a happy family,
they carry a tragedy that they still cannot completely close.
In 2004 unknown assailants kidnapped her only daughter,
Juliana, the eldest, who was studying law,
and then ended up in the hands of the ELN.
The guerrillas asked for a millionaire for his freedom, the engineer, who had already suffered the kidnapping of his father by the FARC,
did not want to continue feeding a diabolical business
and one fine day the calls stopped.
They never knew more.
The couple kept the flat they had given Juliana intact, they kept a chair for her on the company boards.
Until in 2021 Hernández gave up
.
"I don't think she's alive," she said.
"If she was, she would have already sent me a reason
. They executed her."
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