Medellin Mayor-elect Anibal Gaviria explained to Colombian media Wednesday that he remained confident throughout his “tough campaign” that he would defeat opponent Luis Perez in the Medellin mayoral race.
“Frankly I never thought we were going to lose,” Gaviria said told newspaper El Colombiano. “Of course there are times when we feel anxiety about the resurgence of [black propaganda], but not so much because we never felt that this signaled a defeat, but more what we consider an undesirable practice in political terms. But we always had confidence.”
The Liberal Gaviria defeated independent and former Mayor Perez, whose campaign was plagued by a number of corruption scandals, by less than 3% of the popular vote in the Sunday, October 30 elections.
According to Caracol Radio, Gaviria also explained that he was spending his post-election days laying the groundwork for his mayorship, which officially begins January 1, 2012, by connecting with the current municipal administration and establishing a series of contacts.
Calling for unity between all Medellin residents, Gaviria asserted that the enemies are the same for all citizens: inequality, poverty, violence and the shortage of opportunities.
He also expressed confidence in his ability to work with Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos. “We worked together when he was Minister of Defense; we already have and now we’re going to do it, in harmony with him, with [Governor-elect] Fajardo and with all the mayors of Antioquia,” he said.
“We will work with love, commitment and transparency, to honor the support the citizens have given to us,” Gaviria added.
