Colombians are heading to the polls for a presidential runoff between a far-right candidate, Abelardo de la Espriella, and a left-wing senator, Iván Cepeda. De la Espriella, who has been backed by former US President Donald Trump, has campaigned on a platform of fighting crime and corruption, and has vowed to build mega prisons for Colombia’s criminal leaders.
Background
De la Espriella, a dual Colombian-US citizen, has never held elected office and qualified for the ballot through citizen signatures. He has run a campaign built on spectacle, recording music and marketing his own rum brand. His campaign has also advocated for a free-market economic agenda and has opposed abortion, adoption by same-sex couples, and pediatric gender treatments.
Cepeda, on the other hand, has centered his campaign on fighting inequality, deepening agrarian reform, and tackling corruption. He has also criticized decades of US-backed counternarcotics policy and opposed military intervention in Latin America.
Security Concerns
The election comes at a time of mounting political tension and polarization in the country, with a rise in political violence and a growing sense of insecurity among Colombians. De la Espriella has called for using aggressive military tactics against armed groups, while Cepeda has argued that negotiations remain necessary in a conflict too dispersed to solve by force alone.
Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.
