In Colombia, the Fight Is Still On
Far-right Abelardo de la Espriella topped the first round of Colombia’s presidential election. Left-wing senator Iván Cepeda is still in the race but now has to find support outside the ruling party’s core vote.
Colombia’s presidential election is set for a showdown between the Left and a far-right admirer of Trump, Milei, and Bukele. The risk is that the US government will interfere to ensure its favored candidate wins. (Luis Acosta and Raul Arboleda / AFP via Getty Images)
The far right versus a transformative left. It’s the contest that Colombia will face in the presidential runoff on June 21, and a showdown which, with various twists, we’ve already seen in countries like Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. In the first round, it was far-right Abelardo de la Espriella — an admirer of Donald Trump, Argentina’s Javier Milei, and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele — who came in first place, with 43.7 percent of the vote. Hot on his heels is Senator Iván Cepeda of the Pacto Histórico, the left-wing alliance led until now by President Gustavo Petro, with 40.9 percent.
This first result was a disappointment for the Left, since polls had predicted Cepeda would come in first place. His campaign had even hoped to surpass 50 percent, which would have made him president in the first round, with indigenous leader Aida Quilcué as vice president. After the cold shower he got this past Sunday, all options remain open for June 21. The only sure bet is that the Colombian presidency will be decided by a handful of votes.
The Far Right Devours Traditional Conservatism
The big surprise of the May 31 vote was Abelardo de la Espriella’s performance. He managed to attract a large share of the traditional electorate of Uribismo, the tendency led by 2002–2010 president Álvaro Uribe that has dominated Colombia’s right since the turn of the century. Proof of this shift was the meager result for Uribe-backed candidate Paloma Valencia, who, having initially hoped to make the runoff, ended up with just 6.9 percent support. Both she and her mentor rushed on Sunday to endorse De la Espriella, but not all their voters will follow them in the runoff.
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