Colombians are voting in a presidential runoff today to determine whether the country continues on its leftist path or shifts rightward by electing a political outsider who has vowed to crack down on crime and armed groups. The race pits leftist Senator Iván Cepeda, 63, against Abelardo de la Espriella, a 47-year-old lawyer and businessman with no prior political experience.
The runoff follows a crowded first-round election on May 31 in which no candidate secured the majority required to win outright. De la Espriella won 43.7% of the vote and Cepeda won 40.9%, setting up today’s decisive contest.
Cepeda is a human rights activist and philosopher who lost his father, Senator Manuel Cepeda, to assassination in 1994. He represents the Historic Pact, the ruling coalition, and backs continuing President Gustavo Petro’s policies, which include state pension payments for the poor, union-backed labor reforms, peace talks with armed groups, and a moratorium on new oil projects. De la Espriella, who calls himself “the Tiger,” proposes the opposite: ending talks with armed groups, launching a broad military offensive against them, and boosting Colombia’s oil and gas sector. He has blamed Petro for the country’s economic and security woes and has vowed to lower taxes and reduce the state by up to 40%, though he has said he will preserve Petro’s 23% increase in the minimum wage.
Security dominates voters’ minds. Armed groups have expanded territorial control under Petro, and drug trafficking gangs have grown in power, leading to spikes in murders and extortion along the Caribbean coast. De la Espriella has cast Petro and Cepeda as allies of criminals, though Petro’s government says it has seized more cocaine than any other government. Cepeda has rejected the accusations, saying there is no evidence for them. Cepeda has critiqued De la Espriella’s work as a lawyer for people tied to right-wing paramilitary groups and corruption cases, including Alex Saab, who faces U.S. charges for allegedly laundering money for ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. De la Espriella says his professional relationships do not involve any complicity or crime.
Colombia’s election reflects a broader regional rightward shift. Voters in Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Ecuador have elected right-wing presidents in recent races, while Bolivia ended two decades of leftist rule by electing center-right Rodrigo Paz last year. In Peru, conservative Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, is poised to win the presidency after three failed attempts. Most of these elections were driven by concerns over rising crime and weak economies, according to Reuters reporting.
U.S. President Donald Trump has openly endorsed De la Espriella this month, saying the results of today’s race are “very important to the future of Colombia and its relationship to the United States.” Trump has publicly feuded with Petro and moved to increase U.S. presence and influence in the region, including by creating the Shield of the Americas, a military alliance of right-wing leaders pledging to fight drug trafficking.
Polls and markets favor De la Espriella, though analysts expect a tight race. Both candidates have taken pains to raise turnout among the nearly half of eligible voters who skipped the May first round. More than 41 million Colombians are eligible to vote, and polls opened for eight hours starting at 8 a.m. local time. Whoever wins will grapple with high public debt and a divided Congress, which could stymie reform proposals.
Sources
- Reuters — Colombia runoff election details, candidate platforms, Cepeda background, De la Espriella background, first-round results, Trump endorsement, regional context
- Wikipedia — Iván Cepeda Castro biography, Abelardo de la Espriella biography
- Al Jazeera — Runoff election coverage, candidate profiles, security concerns
- The Guardian — De la Espriella military confrontation pledge, armed conflict context
- Americas Quarterly — First-round election results (43.7% De la Espriella, 40.9% Cepeda), candidate analysis
- NPR — Security fears and conflict as central election issues
- BBC — Colombia’s armed conflict and election context
- AP News — Runoff election coverage and candidate details
