If you walk through the Plaza de Bolívar in Bogotá today, you’ll hear two completely different versions of reality. One person will tell you Gustavo Petro is the savior of the working class, a man finally prying the country out of the hands of a corrupt elite. The next person—likely a shop owner or an office worker—will tell you he’s a chaotic ideologue who is driving the economy off a cliff.
So, is Gustavo Petro a good president? Honestly, there is no simple answer. It depends entirely on which part of his "Total Peace" plan you’re looking at and whether you prioritize social equity over institutional stability.
As we sit in early 2026, with the next election cycle already heating up, the verdict is messy. Petro, the former M-19 guerrilla and mayor of Bogotá, has spent nearly four years trying to flip Colombia’s traditional power structure on its head. He’s had some massive wins, like the pension reform that finally gave a safety net to millions of elderly people. But he’s also faced a wall of resistance from Congress and a series of scandals that have kept his approval ratings hovering in the mid-30s.
The Big Wins: Why Some Call Him a Success
You can’t talk about Petro’s presidency without mentioning his social agenda. For a long time, Colombia was one of the most unequal countries in the world. Petro ran on the promise of changing that, and he hasn’t been quiet about it.
One of his biggest achievements is undoubtedly the pension reform. Before he took office, only about one in four Colombian workers actually qualified for a pension. Most people just worked until they died or relied on their kids. Petro’s government pushed through a system that basically guarantees a basic income for the most vulnerable elderly citizens. It was a massive lift, and even some of his critics admit it was a necessary move for social stability.
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Then there is the labor reform. Unions love him. He’s regulated working hours, brought back overtime pay, and strengthened the hand of the average worker. For the guy driving a delivery bike or working in a textile factory, Petro feels like the first president who actually knows they exist.
- Poverty Reduction: The focus on direct transfers and social programs has had a measurable impact on extreme poverty in rural areas.
- Environmental Leadership: He’s become a global face for the "Green Transition," famously calling for an end to new oil and gas exploration.
- Minimum Wage Hikes: Just recently, he signed a decree for a nearly 23% increase in the minimum wage for 2026. That’s a huge boost for purchasing power, even if it makes business owners sweat.
The Chaos Factor: Why Critics Are Fuming
The flip side of the coin is "Paz Total" or Total Peace. This was Petro's grand plan to negotiate with everyone—guerrillas, drug cartels, and paramilitary groups—all at once.
It hasn't exactly gone to plan. While the government has had some success with local truces, the bigger groups like the ELN and FARC dissidents have often used the ceasefires to expand their territory. In places like Cauca and Norte de Santander, people feel less safe now than they did four years ago. The violence hasn't stopped; it's just shifted form, with extortion and kidnapping on the rise even as formal combat numbers stayed flat for a while.
The Institutional Gridlock
Petro’s relationship with Congress is, to put it mildly, a train wreck. He started with a big coalition, but it fell apart when he refused to compromise on his health reform. Since then, he’s been accused of trying to bypass the democratic process.
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Just this month, he declared a third "economic emergency" after Congress failed to pass his tax bills. He’s also been floating the idea of a Constituent Assembly to rewrite the 1991 Constitution. To his supporters, this is "popular power." To his detractors, it’s a page straight out of the authoritarian's handbook.
The Economic Question: Not Great, Not Terrible
If you look at the numbers, the Colombian economy under Petro has been a weird mixed bag. In 2023, growth slowed to a crawl at 0.6%. But by late 2025, things actually started looking up. GDP growth beat forecasts, and the stock market—the Colcap—performed surprisingly well in US dollar terms.
However, there is a "but."
Investment is still shaky. Why? Because Petro’s rhetoric is unpredictable. One day he’s announcing a gasoline price cut to help the poor, and the next he’s threatening to nationalize parts of the energy sector. That kind of volatility makes big companies nervous. They aren't putting their money into long-term projects when they don't know what the tax code will look like in six months.
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Is Gustavo Petro a Good President? The Final Verdict
If you define a "good president" as someone who maintains the status quo and keeps the markets calm, Petro is probably a failure in your eyes. He’s noisy, he’s confrontational, and he’s definitely not a fan of the traditional business elite.
But if you define a "good president" as someone who forces a country to confront its deep-seated inequalities, then he’s been a transformative figure. He hasn't "turned Colombia into Venezuela" like the opposition claimed he would, but he hasn't turned it into a peaceful utopia either.
He’s a disruptor.
As we head toward the May 2026 elections, his legacy will likely be defined by whether his successor chooses to build on his social reforms or dismantle them in the name of security and fiscal discipline.
What You Should Watch Next
- The 2026 Presidential Race: Keep an eye on candidates like Sergio Fajardo or Ivan Cepeda. How they distance themselves from (or embrace) Petro will tell you everything about where the public mood is shifting.
- Inflation Data: Watch how that 23% minimum wage hike affects the price of eggs and bread. If inflation spikes again, Petro's popularity will likely tank.
- Constitutional Court Rulings: The courts have been the biggest check on Petro's power. Their upcoming decisions on his "economic emergency" decrees will determine if he can finish his term with his agenda intact.
- U.S.-Colombia Relations: With tensions rising over drug policy and regional influence, the diplomatic dance with Washington will be a major factor in Colombia's economic stability throughout the year.
Petro's term is coming to an end, and he cannot run for reelection. Whether he’s remembered as a visionary who started a new chapter or a chaotic leader who wasted a golden opportunity is still very much up for debate.