What does change mean for Colombians?

Colombians are set to vote for president today having accumulated a laundry list of grievances with the political class. 

The unemployment rate has remained in the double digits since before the start of the pandemic, inequality is grinding, homicide rates are up (rising 13 percent last year after declining for two decades), law enforcement has been accused of brutally repressing protesters, and roughly 40 percent of the population live in poverty.

No wonder voters are desperate for change. Outgoing President Iván Duque has an approval rating of just 20 percent. (He won’t seek re-election as Colombian presidents are limited to a single four-year term.) 

However, what most Colombians see as the best way for change could turn the country into two very different directions. 

We have prepared a brief guide of what you should look forward to in this election.

The candidates

The frontrunners are Gustavo Petro — a left-wing senator with an economic agenda that is as bold as it is hard to implement — establishment conservative Fico Gutiérrez, and Rodolfo Hernández, a populist businessman who presents himself as an anti-corruption zealot.

Despite being favored in all polling scenarios, Mr. Petro can only look on as his adversaries cut into his lead. At this point,...