美国国家公共电台 NPR--Colombia's presidential race heads to a runoff

Colombia's presidential race heads to a runoff

Transcript¹

Sunday's first round produced two top vote-getters from very different backgrounds. The June 19 runoff will be a contest between a left-wing former guerrilla and a populist real-estate mogul.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The presidential race in Colombia is headed for a runoff election after Sunday's first round produced two candidates from very different backgrounds. The June 19 runoff will be a contest between a left-wing former guerrilla and a populist real estate mogul. NPR's John Otis is in Bogota covering the race, and he broke down those differences for us.

JOHN OTIS, BYLINE²: Well, they're both quite unorthodox. In first place yesterday was Gustavo Petro with 40% of the vote. He's a former left-wing guerrilla who later served in Congress and as the mayor of Bogota. And he's now on his third run for the presidency³. And Petro's promised some pretty big changes here. He wants to phase out the production of oil, which is Colombia's biggest export. He wants to raise taxes on the rich to fund anti-poverty programs. And he's - also plans to reestablish diplomatic relations with the authoritarian⁴ regime next door in Venezuela. So all of this has Colombia's business leaders and social elites⁵ on edge.

MARTIN: He came in first, but he didn't win an outright⁶ victory, right? What happened?

OTIS: In Colombia, unlike the U.S., you need to win more than half the votes to avoid going to a runoff. And that didn't happen. Rodolfo Hernandez was runner-up with 28% of the vote, and he's a really colorful character. He made his fortune in real estate. He went on to become mayor of the northern city of Bucaramanga. And ideologically⁷, he's just all over the map. He's pro-business but, for example, he also supports abortion⁸ rights and legalizing marijuana. His main claim to fame as mayor was getting caught on video slapping a city councilman in the face in an argument over corruption⁹.

MARTIN: Whoa.

OTIS: He's 77, and he's also prone¹⁰ to gaffes¹¹. On one occasion, he praised Adolf Hitler when he meant to say Albert Einstein. He's skipped candidate debates. He's conducted most of his campaign on TikTok videos. And he even granted a TV interview in his pajamas¹².

MARTIN: OK. So - I mean, so he's a colorful character. But what's the political appeal? What's the appeal of his platform to voters?

OTIS: Well, Hernandez appeals to Colombians who are sick of political corruption and business as usual. He plays up this image of himself as this kind of gruff and foulmouthed anti-corruption crusader. Again, Hernandez made millions in real estate, which, in Colombia, is an area riddled¹³ with corruption. His campaign is self-financed, so he claims that if he wins the presidency, he's not going to owe anybody. But he also faces graft¹⁴ accusations¹⁵ from his time as mayor. And that case is set to go to trial in July.

MARTIN: So the next president's either going to be this real estate developer or this former left-wing guerrilla. I mean, these are political outsiders either way. And that's a big deal, right?

OTIS: Yeah. You know, in Colombia, the winning candidates have always come from centrist or conservative political parties. And neither of the current candidates - not Gustavo Petro, not Rodolfo Hernandez - fits this bill. But Colombians have become really frustrated¹⁶ by political scandals and rising poverty. COVID-19 drove up poverty from 35 to 42% of the population and triggered a protest last year. So this time around, Colombians really seem ready for something completely different.

MARTIN: John Otis reporting from Bogota. Thank you so much, John.

OTIS: Thank you very much.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

4 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

5 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

6 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

7 ideologically   

adv. 意识形态上地，思想上地

参考例句：

• Ideologically, they have many differences. 在思想意识上，他们之间有许多不同之处。
• He has slipped back ideologically. 他思想退步了。

8 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

11 gaffes   

n.失礼，出丑( gaffe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The presidential candidate made three mistakes, or gaffes, during his speech. 校长候选人在演讲中出了三次错，或失态。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• When the microphones were on, gaffes gushed from his lips. 而当电话响起，他却口无遮拦，屡屡失言。 来自互联网

12 pajamas   

n.睡衣裤

参考例句：

• At bedtime,I take off my clothes and put on my pajamas.睡觉时，我脱去衣服，换上睡衣。
• He was wearing striped pajamas.他穿着带条纹的睡衣裤。

13 riddled   

adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式)

参考例句：

• The beams are riddled with woodworm. 这些木梁被蛀虫蛀得都是洞。
• The bodies of the hostages were found riddled with bullets. 在人质的尸体上发现了很多弹孔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

15 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

16 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》