Colombian leftist Petro holds lead in presidential race, poll shows

FILE PHOTO: Colombian left-wing presidential candidate Gustavo Petro, of the Pacto Historico (Historic Pact) coalition, speaks during an election debate at the Externado University in Bogota, Colombia March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Leftist Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla vowing to tackle grating inequality, held a big lead ahead of the May 29 vote, a poll showed late on Thursday, though center-right rival Federico Gutierrez saw an uptick in support.

Petro, who was the mayor of Bogota between 2012 and 2015, had 40.6% support, according to pollster Invamer. That is three percentage points lower than what he had in an April 22 poll.