Former mayor Rodolfo Hernández, barely known and apparently unlikely to succeed at the polls, surprised by going to the second round
The elections in Colombia were marked by surprise. The results of the election process showed a change from what the polls of recent weeks have reflected. They put leftist Gustavo Petro as the favorites – that’s how it happened in the end – and Federico ‘Fico’ Gutiérrez behind them; Nothing is further from reality. The polls propelled an “outsider” into second place – as he himself admits – in what is known as an unknown competitor with little chance of success. Who is that character? Rodolfo Hernández, a 77-year-old millionaire engineer with a strong campaign on social networks – he calls himself the “King of Tik-Tok” – and without hair on his tongue.
Hardly anyone believed in his chances of reaching the House of Nariño, according to the polls, his strong personality and the populist campaign of the movement he created himself (Liga de Gobernantes Anticorrupción) earned him nearly six million votes (about 28, 15). % of the vote), moving ‘Fico’ to the right to contest power with the left in a second round.
Hernández was born in 1945 into a working-class family. Married to Socorro Oliveros, he has four children: Rodolfo José, Mauricio, Luis Carlos and Juliana. She was kidnapped in 2004 by National Liberation Army guerrillas, who demanded $2 million in exchange for her release. Her father refused to pay because he thought it would encourage further kidnappings, and his daughter has been missing ever since. Hernández began a failed search that ended last year when he pronounced his eldest daughter dead.
The millionaire made his fortune in the 1970s building affordable housing in his hometown of Piedecuesta. In late 2015, he was mayor of neighboring Bucaramanga, the capital of the department of Santander, defeating the political class that had ruled the region for three decades. During his term, which ended in 2019, he became known in the rest of the country for his weekly Facebook broadcasts in which he spoke directly with citizens.
Advised by Spaniard Víctor López – he led Nayib Bukele to the presidency of El Salvador – his speech was based on the relentless fight against corruption, albeit with hardly any concrete action in this regard. Yet his message has caught on. How? One of the ways he’s reiterated in his campaign that he’s an engineer, to give the impression that being rich doesn’t have to steal from the public treasury. However, he is involved in a corruption case dating back to his years with the mayor. The prosecution accuses him of favoring a company linked to his son Luis Carlos. The trial was scheduled for after the election.
This defender of the fight against bureaucracy and excessive government spending has become popular in the country for his open language, which has made him star in several controversies. On one occasion, he pointed out that he was “a follower of a great German thinker named Adolf Hitler”, although he later returned and claimed that he wanted to refer to Albert Einstein. He was also noted for his public battles with Bucaramanga councilors, whom he called “thieves” and “corrupt.” He even punched Mayor John Claro, who accused his son Rodolfo José of involvement in corruption. The aggression put him out of office for three months, although it has served as his campaign slogan, inviting him to “slap corruption in the face”.
Source: La Verdad
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
