Alejandro Char runs in Colombia’s presidential election

Alejandro Char, two-time former mayor of Barranquilla, announces his candidacy in the 2022 presidential elections in Colombia

En el año 2011 Barranquilla también fue noticia nacional con el mejor alcalde de todo el país: Alejandro Char Chaljub.

— Alcaldía de Barranquilla (@alcaldiabquilla) January 1, 2012

Char’s first term as Mayor of Barranquilla, one of the largest cities in the Colombian Caribbean, was from 2008 to 2011. He was considered one of the best mayors in the country.

Since his early days as mayor, he was approached by old and antagonistic political bosses of the Coast, according to La Silla Vacía. In 2012, President Juan Manuel Santos appointed him as High Presidential Advisor for the region, a position in which Char accumulated political experience and regional power.

Three years later, Char was re-elected as mayor of Barranquilla with 355,844 votes in his favor, or 73%.

"His only contender was an almost imperceptible Rafael Segundo of the movement Firme Barranquilla Sí Se Puede, who obtained 86,790 votes," reported La Silla Vacia. "With this victory, the Char group would show an already consolidated dominance over Barranquilla."

His second term was not as well perceived, despite achieving a 92% approval rating. Char left behind debts, security problems, and unfinished business in terms of civic culture.

By the end of his term as mayor, Char already was a figure with a presidential profile and stood next to the political head of his party, former Vice President Germán Vargas Lleras.

En el día de hoy inscribiremos el comité promotor que recolectará las firmas que respaldarán mi candidatura a la Presidencia de la República. Asimismo, manifestamos nuestra intención de participar en una consulta en marzo para escoger a un candidato presidencial de coalición.

— Alejandro Char (@AlejandroChar) November 16, 2021

The Char family, of Syrian-Lebanese Arab descent, has been politically and economically powerful in Colombia’s Atlantic region for decades. They are the main shareholders of the Junior Barranquilla soccer team, owners of the Olímpica stores, and several road and housing construction companies.

Alejandro Char is very popular, his political skills go without saying, and his family has gained relevance in the Caribbean Coast and the rest of the country.   

There is a possibility that the center-right candidates, including Char, will go to an internal consultation for the 2022 presidential elections. Among those participating will be the former mayor of Bogota, Enrique Peñalosa; the mayor of Medellin, Federico Gutierrez; as well as the politician of Valle, Dilian Francisca Toro, the former president of Ecopetrol, Juan Carlos Echeverry, and the politician David Barguil.

Several of them would be willing to make alliances to strengthen a center-right proposal that has a real possibility of winning the presidency of the republic.

"The unity among the center-right sectors is fundamental to prevent left-wing populism from winning the elections," said Enrique Peñalosa to the outlet El Tiempo.

Un placer recibir la visita de mis grandes amigos @FicoGutierrez y @EnriquePenalosa, a pocas horas del partido de la @FCFSeleccionCol. Hoy nuestro equipo va con toda para triunfar en Barranquilla, y mañana ganarán todos los colombianos que anhelan un futuro mejor. ¡#SiSePuede! pic.twitter.com/hCobnAM50J

— Alejandro Char (@AlejandroChar) November 16, 2021

Peñalosa warned that leftist candidate Gustavo Petro "was the one who in the past expressed more sympathies in favor of the Venezuelan government of Chavez and his successor. Because, in addition, he is the one who has manifested in every way that he will dismantle many public and private institutions of our democracy. He speaks as if everything that has been done in Colombia up to now obeys to perverse and even diabolical interests, as he has even suggested."

Char's decision poses a challenge to Gustavo Petro and Germán Vargas Lleras, who aspire to reach the Casa de Nariño. Char opted for the collection of signatures to establish himself as a presidential candidate because the political chief of Cambio Radical also intends to compete in the 2022 presidential election. "Alejandro Char could contain Petro's strength in the Caribbean, and dissociates himself from Cambio Radical, the party of the former vice president," Semana pointed out on Tuesday.