The three candidates have handled significant sums of money ahead of the presidential elections that will take place on Sunday, May 29 in Colombia
Expenses of presidential campaigns. (Colprensa)
One day before the presidential elections, Colombians continue to have doubts about their candidates: one of the aspects that is most taken into account has to do with campaign spending, since economic factor configures an important item that is related to transparency. The portal Public Questioncarried out an investigation that reveals the exact details of the monetary movements of the candidates for the presidency, where several surprises were found.
Federico Gutiérrez – Team for Colombia
The center-right Colombian presidential candidate and from the Team for Colombia coalition, Federico Gutiérrez. Photo: Colprensa
The Team’s commitment to Colombia has been consolidating in the polls in recent weeks, the support of the right-wing sectors has been essential for the percentage growth of the candidate, however, the economic movements of his campaign were particular.
According to Public Question, the campaign Fico, The President of the People, received $6.345 million from pesos as of May 23, 2022, although everything seemed normal, their expenses have exceeded that amount, since a figure of $7,124 million pesos was recorded, that is, a surplus of $779 million pesos was evidenced , value that does not appear pending in your most recent report.
The worrying thing is that Gutiérrez’s campaign had a disproportionate increase in a few weeks, a figure that was established at 1,720% more than in the report he presented on May 5. For that date, there was an expense of only $391 million pesos.
You can also read: “Rodolfo Hernández cannot win without Uribe hugging him” : Amauri Chamorro, adviser to Nicolás Maduro, made an X-ray of the elections in Colombia
Fences and contracts
Gutiérrez stands out in different aspects, since he has become the most visible candidate in the current elections, although, mainly his face has been exposed on billboards. Of the $4,961 million pesos that have been spent on electoral propaganda, $144 million have been used for the use of billboards in different parts of the country.
Although the expenses of the candidates seem normal and the investment in billboards is necessary, Federico Gutiérrez turned to the company Integración S.A.S.. As stated by Cuestión Pública, this company contributed $42 million pesos to Fico’s campaign for mayor of Medellín in 2015 and, later, would have benefited from five contracts while the politician was in charge of the capital of Antioquia.
A controversial campaign manager
This is Mateo Restrepo Villegas, who managed the ‘Fico’ campaign for the presidency and was Senior Presidential Advisor for Countercyclical Policy in the government of Álvaro Uribe Vélez. Restrepo was summoned for questioning years ago for the Odebrecht case, because, when he served in Uribe’s cabinet, he was awarded the contract for section II of the Ruta del Sol through this controversial company.
Gustavo Petro – Historical Pact
Gustavo Petro, candidate for the Colombian presidency. Photo: Colprensa
The candidate of the Historical Pact seeks to reach the presidency again, this is the third time he has run for the highest position in national politics. However, in his hectic search for such an important position, he exhausts his movements to obtain a good result, this dynamic has been evident by the high costs of his campaign and the request for credits that he registers so far.
Regarding the information known by Public Question from the Cuentas Claras application, the Petro campaign has received $19,402 million pesos, amounts recorded to date May 23, 2022. Of this figure, $7,683 million were used to pay for advertising in the media in Barranquilla and Huila, in addition to hiring two firms in charge of advertising.
You can also read: Bogotá was recognized as one of the five capitals of Latin America to invest
Expenses through the air
One of Petro’s most controversial movements has to do with his investment in transportation, because despite the fact that this item appears in the clear account register, there is no data on the private plane he used on his visit to the department of Córdoba. There are no explanations for this expense, nor details that can establish why it does not appear explicitly in the final record.
Wholesale credits
The President Petro campaign has requested at least three loans from banks, one of which is managed by the Sarmiento Angulo conglomerate, while the other by the Gilinskis. The loans reveal values of $5,000, $2,200, $7,000 and $4,700 million pesos. In turn, the Polo Democrático lent $500 million pesos to this campaign.
From right to left
Gustavo Petro’s campaign manager, Ricardo Roa Barragán, was part of the Honduran Energy Company, which was managed by William Vélez. Roa was one of the fundamental pieces for Vélez, one of the main financiers of Álvaro Uribe Vélez, visible head of the Democratic Center.
Rodolfo Hernández – LEAGUE of Anti-Corruption Leaders
Presidential candidate Rodolfo Hernández.
The engineer is gradually climbing as one of the surprises of the current presidential elections, surpassing even Sergio Fajardo. The former mayor of Bucaramanga has been a business ace through his business development, a fact that has highlighted him as one of the candidates who has spent less money compared to his most important opponents.
Hernández has highlighted the anti-corruption motto, pointing out that the candidates who spend the most on advertising and campaigning must recover said money when they are in power, a dynamic that he has endorsed with his visibility speech on social media. The Santanderean’s campaign income has been $4,137 million pesos.
The monetary injection mainly came from a loan of $4,000 million pesos requested from a banking entity and the contribution of the same candidate accompanied by his wife and campaign manager, Socorro Oliveros. So far, Hernández has spent $2,772 million pesos in paid advertising for radio and television, in addition to the production of digital content for its presence on the web.
Homes abroad
Rodolfo Hernández’s wife was questioned about the purchase of two properties in the United States in 2016 and 2017, a period in which the engineer directed Bucaramanga. These properties had a controversial history, since it was highlighted that the couple’s son (Luis Carlos Hernández) was a bridge to obtain American money, since it was necessary to make the purchase in that country.
The dollars would have been bought from Jhon Rueda through Luis Trujillo, however, Rueda has been indicted for drug trafficking and money laundering. This man has had an extensive history that links him to figures such as ‘Ñeñe’ Hernández and at the time, he appeared in a photo with Alex Char.