Colombian candidate says he won’t nationalize property

By MANUEL RUEDA
Associated Press

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian presidential frontrunner Gustavo Petro pledged that he will not nationalize private property if he wins the nation’s presidency this year as critics in the South American country accuse the leftist candidate of wanting to make radical changes to the country’s free market economy. Petro made the electoral promise in a public notary in Bogota, where he signed a document that said that “nothing or nobody will be expropriated” if he becomes president. In the document, Petro said he was obliged to make the unusual pledge because his campaign has been tarnished by “lies and fear mongering.”