Gustavo Petro is elected the next president of Colombia. The former guerrilla fighter will be the country's first leftist leader.
The former guerrilla won by a slim margin with over 50% of the votes, against 77-year-old entrepreneur Rodolfo Hernandez. In this historic win, his running mate Francia Marquez will now become the first Afro-Colombian to hold executive powers."Let's celebrate the first popular victory. May so many sufferings be cushioned in the joy that today floods the heart of the homeland," Petro tweeted in celebration on Sunday night.
The group was part of a so-called second wave of guerrilla movements in the country that swept the region in the 1970s under the influence of the Cuban Revolution.M19 was associated with illegal activity -- including alleged kidnappings for ransom -- but Petro says he carried out legal activities that aimed to mobilize people to stand up to what he called a"false democracy," even serving as a councilman in the city of Zipaquirá.
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