Colombia elects former guerrilla Petro as first leftist president

FILE PHOTO: A banner with the image of Colombian centre-right presidential candidate Rodolfo Hernandez is pictured the day before the second round of presidential election in Lebrija, Colombia June 18, 2022. REUTERS/Santiago Arcos

BOGOTA/BUCARAMANGA (Reuters) - Leftist Gustavo Petro, a former member of the M-19 guerrilla movement, who has vowed profound social and economic change, won Colombia's presidency on Sunday, the first progressive to do so in the country's history.

Petro beat construction magnate Rodolfo Hernandez with an unexpectedly wide margin of more than 700,000 votes in what analysts said was a demonstration of Colombians' eagerness for efforts to combat deep inequality.