A revolutionary who survived torture, or an unpredictable millionaire
En las vísperas del 19 de junio de 2022, Colombia se asomó a un umbral histórico: más de 39 millones de ciudadanos debían elegir entre Gustavo Petro, quien aspiraba a convertirse en el primer presidente de izquierda del país, y Rodolfo Hernández, un millonario independiente que canalizó el hartazgo popular hacia una cruzada anticorrupción. La contienda, ajustada y sin debate final, planteaba una pregunta más profunda que la de cualquier candidato: ¿hacia dónde quiere mirar Colombia en su historia moderna?
- La carrera se había cerrado tanto que ningún candidato podía reclamar ventaja clara, convirtiendo cada voto en una pieza decisiva de un resultado impredecible.
- Hernández rompió el protocolo democrático al negarse a debatir pese a una orden judicial, dejando a los votantes sin el cara a cara que podría haber definido posiciones.
- El Estado desplegó más de 337,000 efectivos entre militares y policías, cerró fronteras y prohibió el alcohol, señalando la magnitud de la tensión institucional alrededor del proceso.
- Petro, en su tercer intento presidencial y ganador de la primera vuelta, representaba la posibilidad concreta de un giro histórico hacia la izquierda por primera vez en Colombia.
- Hernández, sin partido ni maquinaria política tradicional, había desplazado a la derecha convencional con una fórmula simple: nombrar la corrupción como el origen de todos los males y presentarse como su antídoto.
- Al cierre de urnas a las 4 p.m., los jurados comenzarían el escrutinio mesa por mesa, construyendo desde abajo el veredicto que redefiniría el rumbo del país para el período 2022-2026.
Colombia llegó al 19 de junio de 2022 con más de 39 millones de votantes convocados a decidir entre dos figuras que difícilmente podrían ser más distintas. Gustavo Petro, de 62 años, sobreviviente de torturas y exilio, buscaba en su tercer intento convertirse en el primer presidente de izquierda de la historia colombiana. Rodolfo Hernández, de 77, empresario sin afiliación partidaria, había irrumpido en la política con una propuesta tan sencilla como contundente: la corrupción era la raíz de todos los problemas del país, y él era el hombre capaz de extirparla.
Petro llegó a la segunda vuelta como el candidato más votado de la primera ronda, con un discurso que combinaba crítica a las élites tradicionales con posiciones moderadas respecto a sus planteamientos más radicales del pasado. Hernández, en cambio, construyó su campaña desde afuera del sistema: propuso cerrar embajadas para financiar becas estudiantiles, garantizar que todos los colombianos pudieran conocer el mar, y deportar masivamente a migrantes venezolanos indocumentados. Se presentó como un capitalista cercano al ciudadano común, ajeno a la maquinaria política.
El aparato electoral desplegado fue considerable: más de 12,500 puestos de votación, 240,000 militares y 97,000 policías para garantizar la seguridad, ley seca desde el fin de semana previo y fronteras cerradas entre el sábado 18 y el lunes 20. Los ciudadanos podían consultar su mesa asignada en el portal InfoVotantes de la Registraduría, y el único documento válido para votar era la cédula amarilla con hologramas de seguridad.
Un vacío marcó el tramo final de la campaña: no hubo debate. Un tribunal lo había ordenado, pero Hernández se negó a participar, y su ausencia privó a los colombianos del único espacio formal de confrontación directa entre los dos candidatos. Al cierre de urnas, los jurados iniciarían el conteo y la verificación mesa por mesa, construyendo desde los cimientos el resultado que determinaría si Colombia daba su primer giro a la izquierda o si un outsider antiestablishment lograba contener ese movimiento histórico.
Colombia was heading toward a presidential runoff that would reshape the country's political future. On June 19, 2022, more than 39 million voters would choose between two starkly different visions: Gustavo Petro, a 62-year-old leftist who had survived torture and exile, or Rodolfo Hernández, a 77-year-old independent millionaire running on an anti-corruption platform. The race had tightened over the preceding month into a genuine contest, with neither candidate able to claim a clear advantage as voting day approached.
Petro represented a historic possibility for Colombia. In his third attempt at the presidency, he had emerged as the top vote-getter in the first round, positioning him to become the nation's first left-wing president. He styled himself as a revolutionary who had moderated his most extreme positions while maintaining his core critique of the country's traditional elites. Hernández, by contrast, had arrived in the race as an outsider—a businessman with no party affiliation and a mercurial public persona. He had pushed the traditional right out of contention with a simple formula: treat corruption as the root cause of all national problems, and solve it through austerity and anti-system rhetoric. His proposals ranged from closing embassies to fund student loan forgiveness, to ensuring all Colombians could visit the sea, to deporting undocumented Venezuelan migrants by the thousands. He presented himself as a capitalist defender of personal liberty, someone closer to ordinary people than to political machinery.
The electoral machinery was substantial. Authorities had designated over 12,500 polling stations across the country. More than 240,000 military personnel and 97,000 police officers would be deployed to secure the voting process. The government had announced a dry law—a complete ban on alcohol sales—beginning the weekend before the election and lasting through Monday morning. Border crossings would close at 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 18, and remain sealed until 6 a.m. on Monday, June 20.
Voting would run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at all polling stations. Citizens could locate their assigned voting place and table by visiting the Registraduría's InfoVotantes website or mobile application, entering their national ID number, and following the prompts. The only valid document for voting was a yellow citizenship card with security holograms—no alternatives were permitted. The ballot itself would display photographs of both candidates and their running mates, along with an option to cast a blank vote.
Once polls closed at 4 p.m., election judges would begin the scrutiny process: counting votes, verifying records, and consolidating results at each table. The Registraduría had also called on citizens selected as electoral observers to complete training through a virtual course on the SENA platform, accessible via the Sofía Plus system.
One notable absence shaped the final stretch: no debate between the candidates took place. A court had ordered one to occur, but Hernández declined to participate. When Petro's campaign team met with the public broadcasting system organizing the event, they confirmed that Hernández had shown no willingness to attend. The two men would face each other only through their campaigns and the choice voters would make in the booth.
As Sunday approached, Colombia stood at a threshold. The election would determine not just who occupied the presidency for the 2022-2026 term, but whether the country would move leftward for the first time in its modern history, or whether an anti-establishment independent could block that shift. The month-long campaign had narrowed the field to these two men and their competing claims about what Colombia needed most.
Notable Quotes
Petro's campaign confirmed that Hernández showed no willingness to attend the court-ordered debate— Alfonso Prada, Petro's debate chief
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did Hernández, a millionaire businessman, become the anti-system candidate instead of Petro, who actually lived through exile and torture?
Because Petro had to moderate his positions to win. Hernández could stay pure outsider—no party baggage, no need to compromise. He just said corruption is everything, and people exhausted by traditional politics found that simpler than Petro's revolutionary ideology.
The dry law and border closure—that seems extreme for an election. What's the government actually afraid of?
Disruption. With 39 million voters and that much security deployed, they're trying to prevent any excuse for violence or fraud claims. A closed border and no alcohol removes variables they can't control.
Hernández refused to debate. Doesn't that hurt him?
You'd think so. But his whole appeal was that he was different, unpredictable, not bound by political rules. Refusing to debate fit that brand perfectly. Petro looked like the establishment figure trying to enforce norms.
What happens if Petro wins?
Colombia gets its first left-wing president. That's genuinely historic. But he'd inherit a country that just barely chose him over a man who ran on the idea that the whole system is broken.
And if Hernández wins?
Then the anti-corruption message beat the revolutionary one. But Hernández has no party, no legislative allies, no clear plan beyond closing embassies. He'd have to govern without a coalition.