Thread by @marxistJorge

#ColombiaVota2022
#PetroPresidente
With 99.83% of the polling booths recorded in the quick count Gustavo Petro becomes the president of Colombia, beating right wing demagogue Rodolfo Hernandez. 10 quick observations:

1/ We cannot underestimate the fact that for the first time Colombia will have a president who is regarded as a Left. Others have been killed before for daring to defy the oligarchy (Gaitán, Jaramillo, etc). This is also a defeat for US imperialism.

2/ This is a defeat of uribismo and the capitalist oligarchy, linked to paramilitary gangs and narco-trafficking which have used brutal methods of sicariato (political assassination) to stay in power. When their candidate Fico was beaten in the first round they backed Rodolfo.

3/ This victory was prepared and made possible by the heroic 3-month long paro nacional (national stoppage) a year ago. It's the victory of the youth of the Primera Linea and the 100s of 1000s of workers, peasants, indigenous people and women who defied Army and police repression

4/ This is a crucial victory, but, Petro does not have a majority in parliament. The oligarchy will use all means at its disposal, parliamentary and extra parliamentary to sabotage his reforms. Media demonisation, sabotage, threats, flight of capital, etc. ...

5/ But they will also try to co-opt him, force him to moderate his program (even further), buy him off. The bourgeois and right wing elements (some from the Santos camp) he has involved in his team and campaign will play a key role of internal sabotage.

6/ Nothing will be achieved without the mass movement of workers and peasants outside parliament, to defend the government against the attacks of the right, to push it further when it vacillates. The working people can only trust their own strength.

7/ If Petro rules in favour of the workers and peasants, the majority who elected him, he will conjure the wrath of the ruling class, but will be able to rely on the movement of the masses to advance.

8/ If Petro vacillates, compromises, makes concessions under pressure, he will undermine his own base of support, demoralise those who have backed him and prepare his own removal from power. Look at the lessons of Castillo in Peru.

9/ Francia Marquez does not represent exactly the same as Petro. He is a consumate reformist, she is more plebeian and in touch with the rank and file mass movements. She could become a pole of reference for a grouping to the left of Petro.

10/ Revolutionaries celebrate the victory of Colombian working masses, but have no illusions in Petro nor his program of limited reforms. Even those can only be implemented through a program which challenges the power of imperialism and the rotten Colombian capitalist oligarchy.

@threadreaderapp unroll

And 10/ the masses came out to celebrate the victory of Gustavo Petro in the Colombian presidential election and the defeat of uribismo. An historic turning point.

11/ in his victory speech you can see the limitations of Petro and his program. "We will develop capitalism in Colombia", but capitalism is the problem, not "feudalism" as he said! And within capitalism, not even his program of limited reforms is possible.

The comrades of @ColombiaMarxis analyse Petro's election victory in Colombia
marxist.com/colombia-petro…