Rodolfo Hernández Suárez
Rodolfo Hernández Suárez | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mayor of Bucaramanga | |
| In office 1 January 2016 – 10 September 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Luis Francisco Bohórquez |
| Succeeded by | Juan Carlos Cárdenas Rey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 March 1945 Piedecuesta, Santander, Colombia |
| Political party | Independent |
| Other political affiliations | League of Anti-Corruption Governors |
| Education | National University of Colombia |
Rodolfo Hernández Suárez (born 26 March 1945) is a civil engineer, businessman and Colombian politician. He was mayor of Bucaramanga from 2016 until his resignation in 2019. He placed second in the 2022 Colombian presidential election and will face a second-round runoff against Gustavo Petro to determine the winner on 19 June.[1] He is the owner of the company Constructora HG.[2]
Biography
Hernández was born in Piedecuesta, department of Santander, in 1945, and was raised in nearby Bucaramanga. Prior to his entry into politics, he was a civil engineer since 1971 following his graduation from the National University of Colombia, and worked a career in the construction industry as an entrepreneur through the 1990s via his company HG Constructora, mainly focusing on affordable housing in Bucaramanga and the surrounding area.[3] According to Hernández, his father was previously kidnapped and held for 135 days by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP), and Juliana, one of his four children, was kidnapped and killed by the National Liberation Army (ELN) in 2004[4] after he did not pay ransom.[5]
Hernández entered politics as a local councilor for Piedecuesta. Hernández won the 2015 election for mayor of Bucaramanga, where he served until 2019.
Hernández has been part of a few controversies calling detractors "scoundrels", "robbers", and "thieves". He also previously caused controversy among the Venezuelan expat community in the county after stating Venezuelan women were often "baby factories" who would need to be supported by the state.[3] Hernández said "I am a follower of a great German thinker, his name is Adolf Hitler" during a 2016 interview, later apologizing and saying he meant to say Albert Einstein.[6]
Political positions
Described as a populist and compared to Donald Trump and Silvio Berlusconi,[7] he has campaigned against the corruption of the traditional political class and emphasized his image as a successful entrepreneur who can transform Colombia.[4] He has promised to “clean” the country of corruption and to donate his salary.[8] He said he would give financial rewards to citizens who report corrupt state officials.[9] Reuters has described his political position as centre-right.[10]
Hernández supports the decriminalization of abortion under certain circumstances, as well as the legalization of marijuana for medical use.[11] He also supports: lowering the value-added tax from 19% to 10%; a basic income for all senior citizens (regardless of past contributions or lack thereof) and potentially those near or below the poverty line; progressively writing off debt for students in estrato 1 and 2 (including active students, and those with the best grades); increased access to higher education in the regions; universal health care; switching from a punitive to a rehabilitative attitude towards drug addiction; granting Olympians and world record holders from the country state pensions; increasing social payments for successful sportspeople to up to 100,000 pesos per day; a 50% quota for women in public service and the presidential cabinet; welfare payments for those that maintain (rather than cut down) forested areas; and limiting fracking unless it meets environmental conditions.[3] Regarding the Colombian peace process, Hernández has stated his willingness to add an addendum to the FARC peace deal to include the National Liberation Army.[4] He has also pledged to strengthen law and order and create jobs.[8]
References
- ^ "El redentor de Bucaramanga". El País (in Spanish). 9 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
- ^ de 2022, 20 de Mayo. "Cómo construyó Rodolfo Hernández su fortuna y qué tan grande es". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2022-05-29.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c Pritchard, Oli (2022-05-21). "Election cheat sheets: Rodolfo Hernández". The Bogotá Post. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
- ^ a b c "Así es Rodolfo Hernández, el 'Donald Trump' colombiano que quiere ser presidente". CNN (in Spanish). 2022-05-29. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
- ^ "Rodolfo Hernández revela por qué no pagó el rescate de su hija, asesinada por un grupo armado". infobae (in European Spanish). 30 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
- ^ News, A. B. C. "Colombia's historic election heads to perilous runoff with big implications for US: ANALYSIS". ABC News. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "Populist Hernández to face leftwinger Petro in Colombia election run-off". Financial Times. 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
- ^ a b "Colombia's 'king of TikTok' Hernandez ready for run-off after shock result". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
- ^ "Populist Hernández to face leftwinger Petro in Colombia election run-off". Financial Times. 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
- ^ Griffin, Oliver (2022-05-30). "Colombia's 'king of TikTok' Hernandez ready for run-off after shock result". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
- ^ Rodolfo Hernández [@ingrodolfohdez] (23 May 2022). "NO SE DEJEN ENGAÑAR🚨! Yo NO apoyo el Fracking ni el Glifosato. Y SI apoyo la legalización de la marihuana medicinal y el derecho al aborto bajo las condiciones estipuladas. No se confundan" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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