“What is coming here is real change, real change,” Colombia’s new President-elect, Gustavo Petro, promised his cheering supporters at his victory speech on Sunday night.

As the country’s first-ever left-wing leader – with a running mate, Francia Márquez, who will become the first black vice-president – Mr Petro’s belief that Colombia has voted for change is hard to deny.

Even before his victory, the country had voted for a departure from the status quo, with the outgoing president’s nominated candidate failing to make it through the first round of voting.

Instead, Mr Petro won 50.5% of the votes in a second round run-off against millionaire rival Rodolfo Hernández, an independent candidate who railed against corruption.

Gustavo Petro, 62, is a former member of the now-defunct M-19 rebel group, which was originally set up in response to alleged fraud in Colombia’s 1970 elections.

The group took up arms against perceived inequality and orchestrated one of the country’s bloodiest acts – an attack on the national judicial building which left nearly 100 people dead.

Mr Petro joined the group when he was just 17 and was with the organisation for 10 years. He spent more than a year in prison because of his involvement with them, and has spoken of being tortured by the authorities during his time behind bars. He was in prison at the time of the takeover of the justice building.

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