Far-right de la Espriella elected Colombia president: What’s next?
Summary
Abelardo de la Espriella, a far-right millionaire supported by President Donald Trump, has won Colombia’s presidential election in a close race against left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda. De la Espriella’s win will bring changes to Colombia’s economic and foreign policies, reversing many of the programs started by outgoing President Gustavo Petro.Key Facts
- Abelardo de la Espriella won about 49.66% of the vote, narrowly beating Ivan Cepeda, who received around 48.7%.
- Ivan Cepeda was backed by outgoing leftist President Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first left-wing president.
- Over 26.3 million people voted out of 41.4 million eligible voters in the election.
- De la Espriella has promised to restore relations with Israel and move Colombia’s embassy to Jerusalem.
- Petro’s policies included boosting aid to the poor, labor reform, stopping new oil projects, peace talks with armed groups, and cutting ties with Israel.
- Cepeda’s campaign challenged the results from about 33,000 polling stations, nearly a quarter of all stations.
- Colombia has faced over 60 years of conflict involving leftist rebels, drug cartels, and paramilitary groups.
- The election shows deep political division in Colombia, with a very narrow margin of victory.
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