(CNN Spanish) – Rodolfo Hernandez Progress in polls before Colombian presidential elections Set to take place on Sunday, May 29th, it will close the gap with “Fico” Gutierrez, who has so far been a solid second place.

Gustavo Petro is still, by far, the candidate with the most support for the first round. On the other hand, the novelty of the consultations known a week before the elections is the growth of Hernandez.

a Survey of the National Consulting Center commissioned by Semana It reveals that Petro continues to lead preferences with 35.8% of support. For their part, Gutierrez and Hernandez are “in a technical relationship”: the former mayor of Medellín will receive 20.8% of the vote while the former mayor of Bucaramanga will receive 19.1%.

Another survey conducted by the same institution and paid by a private businessman, according to the media empty chairHernandez gave intent to vote by 16% in May, which is a significant increase compared to April, When he estimated his support at 9%..

This poll keeps Petro in first place with 38% and Gutierrez in second place with 23%, the same numbers they both scored in April, according to information shared by Hernandez.

A third query, in this case from Invamer, confirms Hernandez’s jump: The candidate received 20.9% voting intent, up seven points from April, According to Caracol TV and Blu Blu Radio, which requested the survey.

This poll gives Petro 40.6% support, which is a decrease of three points compared to last month, and Gutiérrez 27.01%, which means an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous consultation.

How is a possible second round formed?

If neither candidate in the first round receives a simple majority (half plus one) of the valid votes, as polls suggest, a second round will be held on June 19 with the two candidates obtaining the largest number of votes.

The current picture indicates that Petro will face Gutierrez or Hernandez.

This is the third attempt to reach the presidency by Petro, who defines himself as a leader left “progressive” In a very right-wing and traditional country.

on the back Burden of belonging to a guerrilla group This led to one of the worst tragedies in the country’s history, the seizure of the Palace of Justice (although not directly involved), but at the same time one of the most important political leaders in the modern history of the Latin American nation.

Meanwhile, “Fico” Gutierrez has positioned himself as a right-wing candidate after winning among five former candidates from Team Colombia’s coalition. The former mayor of Medellín, the youngest candidate in this election, presented himself as the opponent of Gustavo Petro. Gutiérrez had the support of traditional conservative and liberal parties, as well as Partido de la U, and, tacitly, Centro Democrático, the current government party: the pre-candidate of that group, Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, resigned in March and I decided to support Gutierrez.

Gutierrez’s speech focused on “Preserving democracy and freedomsAs well as security, Petro was criticized for considering him to have a “populist and authoritarian project”.

For his part, Hernandez introduced himself as a intruderHe is an independent politician outside the establishment and traditional parties.

Working as a construction businessman, he made his fortune and, after a controversial but popular tenure as mayor of Bucaramanga – a city of about 500,000 people in northeastern Colombia – decided to jump into the national arena with a platform based on fighting corruption.

The winner of the election – dubbed by nearly 39 million citizens – will be Ivan Duque’s successor and he will take office on August 7, 2022.

This article has been updated with the latest polls.