Engineer Rodolfo Hernández was a presidential candidate in 2022. He spent the last days of his life fighting cancer. Photo: @ingrodolfohernandez
Rodolfo Hernández did not win the battle against cancer. After being admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the International Hospital of Colombia, in the afternoon of This Wednesday (September 2), the controversial politician and former presidential candidate died.
“The International Hospital of Colombia (HIC) wishes to inform the public that, despite all the efforts made by our medical and care team, Engineer Rodolfo Hernández passed away today due to complications from his metastatic neoplastic pathology of the colon.” HIC reported in a press release.
The Colombian International Hospital in Santander reports the death of engineer and former presidential candidate, Rodolfo Hernández. pic.twitter.com/CnULZJ7Bdm
— Teleantioquia (@Teleantioquia) September 2, 2024
Hernández began an intense fight against terminal cancer that involved, a few weeks ago, the removal of part of his liver, crucial to eliminate cancer cells since previous treatments were not effective.
After that intervention, he was transferred home for recovery, but A complication in a vein caused him to be hospitalized again where, after several days and despite medical efforts, he lost the battle.
His rise in politics
Hernández was born on March 25, 1945 in Bucaramanga and He began his career as an entrepreneur in the construction sector before transitioning to politics.
He was mayor of Bucaramanga in 2016, where he stood out for his focus on transparency and the fight against corruption.
His direct, controversial and, at times, uncompromising style won him both followers and critics. After his successful tenure as Mayor of Bucaramanga, he entered the national political scene, marking a significant change in the, until then, traditional party system in Colombia.
In fact, he emerged as an unexpected opponent against the current president Gustavo Petro. He started with only 3 percent of voting intention in the first round and, although his vice-presidential candidate resigned along the way, He rose to the point of pushing aside the center-right candidate, the current mayor of Medellín, Federico Gutiérrez.
His false starts and the revelations of several videos and audios in which certain phrases were heard that were considered derogatory, especially against women, in addition to the allegations of corruption cases involving one of his sons, played against him in the presidential race. Despite this, it marked a milestone in Colombian politics.
First reactions
The news of his death has provoked different reactions from different political sectors who mourned his passing.
One of the first to speak out was his opponent in the presidential race, Gustavo Petro. “I regret the death of Rodolfo Hernández after a long battle with cancer, a hug to his family,” Petro said on his X account.
I regret the death of Rodolfo Hernández after a long battle against cancer. My condolences to his family.
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) September 2, 2024
Former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez also spoke out about the engineer’s death and sent his condolences to his family and friends.
“We supported him for mayor of Bucaramanga, we never bothered him, we never asked him for anything, as he acknowledged. “His advisors’ advice led him to make statements against me during the presidential campaign. That did not leave a mark on me in life, much less in death. My respect,” Uribe said.
Our condolences to all his family and friends. We supported him for mayor of Bucaramanga, we never bothered him, we asked him for nothing as he acknowledged. The advice of his advisors led him to make statements against me during the presidential campaign. That did not leave me…
— Alvaro Uribe Velez (@AlvaroUribeVel) September 2, 2024
The family, for its part, has asked that their privacy be respected in these moments of deep pain and that information about the funeral be communicated through channels they determine as official.
2024-09-02 18:54:52
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