Trump-backed candidate wins Colombia presidential election

A flamboyant US-backed lawyer who has never held public office narrowly won Colombia’s presidential runoff Sunday, swinging the country hard to the right on a promise to wage war against drug-running guerrilla groups.

With just a handful of polling centres left to report, Abelardo de la Espriella had 49.65 per cent of the vote — an unassailable lead over left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda, who trailed on 48.70 per cent.

The 47-year-old’s victory will likely improve strained relations with Washington and extend a wave of rightist candidates who have swept to power across Latin America.

“Today Colombia won its most important game,” the president-elect said in a series of social media posts, adding he had spoken to US President Donald Trump, who offered congratulations and support.

We are grateful to God for this miracle that has taken place,” De la Espriella said.

As his victory became clear, supporters poured onto the streets of Colombian cities, wearing the canary-yellow national football jersey he had adopted as a campaign uniform.

They waved flags, blew horns and expressed hope that “The Tiger,” as they call him, would bring security after a campaign marred by guerrilla bomb attacks and the murder of a leading conservative presidential hopeful.

I’m very happy,” said 30-year-old supporter Daniela Oliveros in Barranquilla. “I believe a lot in the country, I believe a lot in freedom.”

“Abelardo, at this moment, is giving us above all a sense of security, employment, and dignity,” she said.

– War and peace –

De la Espriella’s victory marks a return to power for Colombia’s right wing, which has ruled for all but four of the last 200 years.

But only a few hundred thousand votes separated the two candidates, after a hyper-fractious campaign, and protests are expected, and he will be forced to govern without a parliamentary majority.

His victory is likely to test Colombia’s fragile decade-old peace process.

During the campaign, the dual US-Colombian national, who calls himself “El Tigre” told AFP that he would scrap peace talks with dissident groups and launch a 90-day campaign of US-backed airstrikes against them.

In the ten years since a landmark peace accord was signed with FARC guerrillas, much of Colombia has prospered.

But cartels and dissident groups still control pockets of the country, cocaine exports are at an all-time high, and Colombia remains one of the world’s most economically unequal countries.

– ‘Thirst for power’ –

His opponent, 63-year-old leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda, stopped short of conceding defeat, telling supporters he would wait until all the votes were counted.

“Once the count has been completed and its final result is known, and the corresponding checks have been carried out, we will acknowledge the official result,” he said.

His campaign had appealed to many worse-off Colombians who wanted a more equal economy and feared a return to violence.

“I’m very worried about what Abelardo might do in a government,” said 40-year-old bank worker Santiago Galindo, who voted for Cepeda.

Galindo worried “how far his thirst for power could go and his willingness to trample over people without really caring about them.”

AFP