Urban hero takes on establishment in Colombia presidential race

By Helen Murphy and Luis Jaime Acosta BOGOTA (Reuters) – Enrique Penalosa, a jovial economist who made Colombia’s congested capital more tolerable when he was mayor in the 1990s, is bringing his urban smarts to the national scene, hoping to persuade voters he will bring peace and prosperity as president. Penalosa, considered an urban guru, is among several candidates taking on center-right incumbent Juan Manuel Santos, the frontrunner, in the presidential ballot on May 25. “More important than left or right is to do something different,” Penalosa told Reuters in an interview late on Monday in which he pledged to continue peace talks being held in Cuba with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, rebels. Penalosa, who stands well over six-feet-tall, said he is “obsessed” with achieving equality in a nation where 50 years of war with the FARC have helped keep 40 percent of the population of 47 million in poverty.