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Gustavo Petro's election signals a new era for Colombian politics - but who is he, what is he promising, and why is this so significant? Mr Petro’s election on 19 June - with 50.5% of the votes - means that he will become the first leftist president since the country’s independence over 200 years ago. His running mate, Francia Marquez, will also become the country’s first Black vice-president. While he has been active in mainstream politics for decades - serving as a congressman, a senator, and the mayor of Bogota - his journey into politics has been far less conventional. At 17, he joined the M-19 militia, assuming the alias Aureliano, a nod to one of the protagonists in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s classic One Hundred Years of Solitude. The group itself was formed in 1970 to contest the results of that year’s presidential election and also called for more democracy throughout the country. It was known for its high-profile activities, including kidnappings. In 1980, it attacked the Dominican Republic’s embassy in Bogota, and in 1985 it attacked the Palace of Justice, Colombia’s supreme court, in an attempt to put then-president Belisario Betancur on trial after the government violated a ceasefire. Mr Petro was already in prison at the time on arms charges and entered politics after his release two years later. In his third presidential campaign, some of Mr Petro’s priorities centred around the environment, protecting women's rights in conflict areas, and addressing social and economic inequality - something that is particularly relevant in a country where 50% of the population lives in poverty. He has also pledged to de-escalate Colombia’s reliance on fossil fuels by not granting any licences for hydrocarbon exploration and halting fracking projects. If Mr Petro commits to these pledges, it will make Colombia the largest fossil fuel producing country to take such action. Mr Petro’s election also has broader regional consequences, mainly by accelerating Latin America's new ‘pink tide’. Colombia now joins Peru, Chile, Honduras, Mexico, and Argentina in a growing leftist bloc, with Brazil expected to follow in October, as the former president and union leader Lula leads in the polls. Voters across the region have rejected the political status quo in light of the economic impact of both Covid and the soaring inflation caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While Mr Petro’s election is a significant turning point in Colombian politics, he faces a challenging term. His 50.5% share of votes gives him just a thin mandate, compounded by existing suspicion towards him in a traditionally conservative country. His green agenda is also unlikely to sit well with investors. However, one of his biggest challenges - and priorities - will be in reviving the 2016 peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombia’s main armed opposition group. The 2016 deal formally ended 52 years of civil war, but his predecessor Duque undermined it in 2018 by promising to ‘modify’ the provisions that intended to reverse rural underdevelopment and inequality - one of the conflict’s main drivers.