Juan Carlos Henao, champion of the Copa Libertadores in 2004, burned in the elections

A common term to refer to those personalities who generate expectation prior to the elections even if they do not get the support expected at the polls on the day of the polls is that of burned. And one of them, in the legislative votes on March 13, was goalkeeper Juan Carlos Henao, champion of the 2004 Copa Libertadores with Once Caldas.

Whoever also had the opportunity to save in the Colombian national team took part as a representative to the House by the department of Caldas, but the votes obtained were not enough to reach Congress. The candidate of the political party Gente en Movimiento was supported at the polls by only 9,536 citizens, just over half of the applicant who took the last place.

Those chosen in Caldas as representatives, according to the National Civil Status Registry, were: Wilder Iberson Escobar Ortiz, of People in Movement, with 33,411 votes; Santiago Osorio Marín, of the Historical Pact, with 23,977 votes; José Octavio Cardona León, of the Liberal Party, with 23,279 votes; Juan Sebastián Gómez Gonzales, of the Together for Caldas Coalition, with 21,910, and Juana Carolina Londoño Jaramillo, of the Conservative Party, with 17,672.

After the results of the elections, Juan Carlos Henao, remembered for saving two penalties to Boca Juniors in the Libertadores final at Palogrande Stadium (Manizales), showed that one thing is the support of the fans from the stands and another that of the villagers when it comes to choosing who represents them in Congress.

Among the athletes of whom much was expected in the elections but who in the end did not attract enough attention from the Colombians with their proposals, Caterine Ibargüen stands out. The double Olympic medallist, silver in London 2012 and gold in Brazil 2016, did not contribute seats in the Senate in the U Party, despite topping the list of this group with 01 on the card.

“I gathered my whole family on a farm, we were thirty-something. We sat down at a table, talked, I put the subject to them. Everyone gave me their support. They agreed very much and they knew and told me that it was a very hard road, but that they were always going to support me, that they knew that all my decisions have always been taken forward,” she told Infobae Colombia to the athlete once she took to the Senate, and, today, the polls show that her relatives were right.

Among those burned, not only did sportsmen stand out, but also old acquaintances on the radio, such as Jaime Andrés Motta, who served as a DJ on the radio station Los 40 Principales. Models such as Vanessa Mendoza, winner of the Señorita Colombia contest in 2001 representing the Department of Chocó, were also left without support at the polls. Both of them aspired to the Senate for the Democratic Center. For this party, Gabriel Santos, son of Pacho, who ran as representative to the House for Bogotá, did not fulfill the objective either.

However, in the case of opinion leaders, political figures and activists in the regions, those who failed at the polls were the candidates of the New Liberalism, since they did not exceed the threshold to have seats in the Senate, although they were left with one in the House. For sample, a button: Mabel Lara, Carlos Fernando Galán and Yolanda Perea.

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