Hit by Scandal, Petro Can Still Ruin Colombia

Daniel RaisbeckLess than a  year ago, I wrote of the almost certain regret that awaited the prosperous, urban, multiple ‐​degree‐​holding types who voted for Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s Chavista president. They thought they had supported a Nordic‐​style social democrat—failing to notice that they had helped to elect a tropical socialist who, given his past as a guerrilla group member and Hugo Chávez supporter, was also a potential autocrat.Caveat emptor (or rathersuffragator) indeed. But I  never thought that voter’s remorse would set in so quickly. Or so extremely.According to poll data from June 1, 2023, only26 percent of Colombian citizens approved of Petro ’s performance as president. And this was before the scandal that shook the country’s political scene last Sunday evening, whenSemanamagazinereleased a  series of WhatsApp audio files sent by Armando Benedetti, Petro’s former ambassador in Caracas, to Laura Sarabia, the president’s former chief of staff.Among the least bombastic revelations is Benedetti ’sclaim that Alfonso Prada, Petro ’s former interior minister, “stole the whole ministry with his wife.” This implies massive levels of corruption around Petro, who came to power with an anti‐​corruption agenda (quite cynically given his disreputablepolitical alliances). Prada proceeded to sue Benedetti for libel.Petro ’s dwindling number of supporters may dismiss this as a politician’s petty slander against a rival in t...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs