Colombia’s President Petro Rated Poorly in South America
In October, a study from Argentina’s CB Consulta Opinión Pública indicated that Colombia’s leftist president, Gustavo Petro, ranks among the least popular leaders in South America.
This report, published recently, breaks down survey data collected from October 17 to 22 across ten South American nations. Respondents evaluated their opinion of their country’s president and ministers.
Results showed that 59.7% of Colombian participants held a negative view of Petro, with 31.5% considering his image as “very bad.” Conversely, only 38.1% admitted to having a positive impression of him.
This placed Petro 7th out of 10 in the rankings, notably the only leader surpassing Peru recently. He ranked lower than Interim President José Geri, Bolivia’s outgoing socialist President Luis Arce, and Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, who are the only heads of state with worse public perceptions.
Among Petro’s 19 ministers, the lowest-ranked were Interior Minister Armando Benedetti, Transport Minister María Fernanda Rojas, and Equality Minister Juan Carlos Florian, all of whom have close ties to Petro.
Benedetti is a controversial figure, having faced numerous scandals, including admissions of personal struggles with addiction. Rojas has faced criticism too, albeit to a lesser degree, as she has been involved in various issues since taking office.
Florian, the least favorable minister according to the survey, has a history as a former gay porn actor and identifies as a “female,” which stirred controversy after his appointment. This appointment led to accusations of violating Colombia’s gender equality legislation.
As for President Petro, he, being Colombia’s first leftist leader with a background in the M19 guerrilla group, has adopted an increasingly adversarial stance towards the U.S. and former President Donald Trump. His actions have reportedly strained more than two centuries of diplomatic relations.
Recently, Petro’s rhetoric against Trump has escalated, referring to him as an impediment to democracy and pushing for his removal. He also made bizarre remarks about needing to change Trump “in many ways,” suggesting the U.S. military should ignore Trump’s orders.
After these comments, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control placed sanctions on Petro due to his alleged involvement in drug trafficking activities. Critics, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have noted a significant rise in cocaine production in Colombia since Petro took office.
Additionally, the Treasury sanctioned Benedetti, as well as Petro’s spouse and son, for their connections to alleged financial misconduct linked to drug traffickers.
Petro’s four-year term is scheduled to conclude in August 2026, and he cannot seek reelection due to constitutional limits. The Historic Pact coalition has chosen Sen. Iván Cepeda as their presidential nominee for the upcoming election.
As for Cepeda’s candidacy, it remains uncertain whether he will be the sole leftist candidate since a broader coalition plans to hold a primary in March 2026 to nominate a unified candidate. The final decision on Cepeda’s participation depends on a ruling by the Colombian Electoral Authority regarding the coalition’s legal status.
In contrast, among the top-rated leaders, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Argentina’s Javier Milei, and Uruguay’s Yamandou Orsi received the most positive feedback from respondents, with Milei seeing the most significant increase in approval ratings from September to October.
