Petro beat construction magnate Rodolfo Hernandez with an unexpectedly wide margin of some 719,975 votes

Petro, a current senator, has pledged to fight inequality with free university education, pension reforms and high taxes on unproductive land

Leftist Gustavo Petro, a former member of the M-19 guerilla movement who has vowed profound social and economic change, won Colombia’s presidency on Sunday, the first progressive to do so in the country’s history.