By Nitya Chakraborty
Pro-Trump far right billionaire lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella won the Presidential elections run off on Sunday defeating the candidate of the ruling Left coalition Ivan Cepeda by a narrow margin. Espriella got 49.66 per cent of the votes while Cepeda got 48.7 per cent. The difference was less than one per cent
De la Espriella’s victory marks a sharp swing back to the right after four years under Colombia’s first and only leftwing president, Gustavo Petro, who was barred by the constitution from seeking re-election and therefore backed Cepeda as his successor.. Since the first round of Presidential elections held on May 31, the far right candidate through a friendly media made all sorts of allegations against the popular left candidate senator Cepeda by saying that if elected, Colombia will face the fate of Cuba. The big corporates also sided with the far right by saying that they will invest in a big way if Espriella wins.
The outgoing government of President Gustavo Petro did a lot for the common Colombians, especially the indigenous population. There has been big improvements in the education and healthcare of the poor. Still the Left government was under strain due to the continuous opposition from the pro-US companies and the Trump administration. There is also a right wing political wave in Latin America in 2026 posing setback to the Left parties and the Left led governments
Only recently, the far right presidents were elected as Presidents in Honduras and Chile ousting the Left. In Peru, the far right candidate Keiko Fujimuri is front runner in opinion polls for the coming Presidential polls. The Left will be facing the biggest test in Brazil in October this year when the President Lula will be contesting for the post against the combined opposition of the Right backed by Trump. As of now, the opinion polls give Lula a lead but, the far right is upbeat after the Presidential poll results in the other Latin American nations. As of now, only four countries in Latin America are having Left wing governments – Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay and Guatemala as against nine countries three years back.
Present Colombia President Petro will demit office on August 7 as per the Constitution. He however alleged irregularities in the vote count released by the National Civil Registry, the independent body responsible for organizing Columbia’s elections. Petro wrote in his social media post that no president can be declared yet. It is the scrutiny process that determines the President. The scrutiny may take another two days
The Left candidate Cepeda also declined to recognise the preliminary results and said in his speech that a team of lawyers from his party was “proceeding to challenge 33,000 polling stations across the country”. He added: “Once the final scrutiny result is produced and the corresponding verifications have been carried out, we will recognise the official result that emerges from that scrutiny process.”
The supporters of the left coalition held massive demonstrations alleging poll irregularities in many cities including Bogota. They raised anti-US slogans and burned the US flag chanting slogans like Trump should not be allowed to colonise Columbia. The supporters decided to keep a vigil on the counting stations as the scrutiny process takes place.
The Trump administration was closely monitoring the Columbia elections as a part of the U.S. strategy to organize regime change of the left ruled countries. They were happy at the narrow win of the far right candidate Espriella. The US secretary of state Marco Rubio posted that he had spoken to Espriella to congratulate him. The Trump administration looks forward to working closely with the new administration to advance regional security cooperation and illegal immigration to the United States and strengthen the bilateral economic ties. Colombia’s best days are ahead, Rubio wrote in his post.
The two – Gustavo Petro, the President of the Left coalition government and the far right leader Espriella are leaders in contrast. Petro was a fighter working for the poor and dispossessed. He led the guerilla movement against the then autocratic regime of Columbia. While born in Bogota,, De la Espriella rose to prominence as a criminal lawyer representing the leaders of a group at the heart of the decades-long armed conflict: the paramilitaries, private armies created by rightwing landowners to fight leftwing guerrilla groups. Both the leaders were on the two sides of the barricade. Petro was fighting for the poor and Espriella was working for the landowners as a lawyer. He earned millions by doing business in liquor and real estate
The Petro led coalition partners are disappointed a bit but they are strong enough to continue their struggle against any right wing government programme. There is an immediate example in Bolivia, where the far right government is in peril as the administration has been paralysed due to the demonstrations by the students, workers and farmers in support of their demands. The fight is continuing though the Left lost the elections due to the split in the main party. Colombia’s political scenario is still uncertain till the scrutiny results are out. (IPA Service)
