The economist, former guerrilla, and former mayor of Bogotá,
Gustavo Petro, previously a candidate in the 2010 and 2018 Colombian presidential elections, maintained a lead in most opinion polls and was set during the election to become the first president of Colombia from a
left-wing coalition. In September 2021, Petro promised that he would retire from politics should his campaign for the presidency be unsuccessful. Petro said he would do so as he did not want to be an "eternal candidate". Of his campaign,
Gwynne Dyer wrote: "Petro is a known quantity, active in politics for the past thirty years. He's not really radical, but he would be Colombia's first-ever president from the left, so for some Colombians his policies would seem extreme: things like expanding social programs, ending oil and gas exploration, and investing in agriculture." His political party,
Humane Colombia, promoted the creation of the
Historic Pact for Colombia coalition, which includes
social movements,
socialist,
environmental, and
feminist associations. while trying to distance himself from Venezuela, which he previously supported; he maintained his position of re-establishing bilateral relations with the government of
Nicolás Maduro. During the campaign, he was critical of the
neoliberal system of the
Colombian economy and its reliance on oil and gas, advocated
progressive proposals on
women's rights and
LGBTQ issues, and supported a peace agreement between the state and the guerrillas. Proposals from Petro to change the nation's economic model by piling taxes on unproductive landowners, as well as abandoning oil and coal for clean energy, upset investors. Some feared his efforts to shift wealth from rich to poor could cause Colombia to become similar to present-day Venezuela. Critics claim his ideas are also similar to the early days of
Hugo Chávez's government in Venezuela. Petro was critical of the Maduro government's commitment to oil usage whilst on the campaign trail. In an interview with
Le Monde, Petro argued that "Maduro's Venezuela and Duque's Colombia are more similar than they seem", pointing to both governments' commitment to non-renewable energy and the "authoritarian drift" of the two. Regarding Chávez, Petro praised his efforts to bolster equality but said that Chávez "made a serious mistake of linking his social program to oil revenues". During the campaign, Petro and his running mate
Francia Márquez faced numerous death threats from
paramilitary groups. Petro cancelled rallies in the
Colombian coffee region in early May 2022 after his security team uncovered an alleged plot by the La Cordillera gang. In response to this and other similar situations, 90 elected officials and prominent individuals from 20 countries signed an open letter expressing concern and condemnation of attempts of political violence against Márquez and Petro. The letter highlighted the assassination of over 50 social leaders, trade unionists, environmentalists, and other community representatives in 2022. Signatories of the letter included former Ecuadorian president
Rafael Correa, American linguist and philosopher
Noam Chomsky, and French member of the National Assembly
Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
Polls During the campaign, his opponents said that he planned expropriation measures if he becomes president, and argued similarities with Venezuela's
Nicolás Maduro. Proposals from Petro to change the nation's economic model were criticized for increasing taxes on unproductive landowners and for upsetting oil and coal investors by his platform to move to clean energy. Critics said his efforts to shift more of Colombia's wealth to the poor could turn Colombia into another Venezuela, and also compared his ideas to those of the early days of
Hugo Chávez's government in Venezuela. In response, he signed a public document on 18 April in which he pledged not to carry out any type of expropriation if elected. During a presidential debate hosted by
El Tiempo on 14 March, candidates responded to a question about relations with Venezuela and Nicolás Maduro. Whilst other participants responded by stating Venezuela is a dictatorship and expressing reluctance toward restoring relations, Petro replied, "if the theory is that with a dictatorship you can't have diplomatic relations, and Venezuela is, [then] why does this government have relations with the United Arab Emirates, which is a dictatorship, perhaps worse [than Venezuela]?" He also stated that diplomatic relations are established with nations and not with individuals. Whilst he has praised former Venezuelan president
Hugo Chávez for bolstering equality, Petro said during an interview with French newspaper
Le Monde in May 2022 that Chávez made a "serious mistake of linking his social program to oil revenues". He also criticized Venezuela's commitment to oil by president Maduro. Petro argued that "Maduro's Venezuela and Duque's Colombia are more similar than they seem", pointing to the Duque administration's commitment to non-renewable energy and the "authoritarian drift" of both governments. General Eduardo Zapateiro, commander of the
National Army of Colombia, also criticized Petro during the campaign, causing controversy. ==Election results==