Who is Colombia's 'Old Man of TikTok' that could become the next president?
CNN
When Colombia's presidential campaign race started back in January, few expected that Rodolfo Hernandez would reach the final lap. But the septuagenarian real estate magnate-turned-politician has a chance of becoming the country's next president if he wins the battle against competitor Gustavo Petro in Sunday's runoff vote.
The Americas have seen a number of populist outsiders shake up national politics recently, and Hernandez seeks to do the same in Colombia. He doesn't mind comparisons to far-right populist Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro or former US President Donald Trump, telling CNN in early June: "What I will do is defeat corruption. If they call me 'the Colombian Trump' for that, it's magnificent."
Hernandez, who is 77, is known as el ingeniero (the engineer) for his degree in civil engineering from Colombia's national public university -- or el viejito del TikTok (the old man of TikTok), for his active social media presence.
Donald Trump’s campaign is taking a vastly different approach to 2024 compared to 2020, with plans for fewer staff and expenses, including what they view as superfluous brick and mortar offices. Instead, the campaign pledges to run a more efficient operation that will rely heavily on data modeling, microtargeting and relying on wealthy conservative groups for data, infrastructure and significant bank accounts to help find Trump a pathway to the 270 electoral votes needed to secure victory in November.