Abelardo de la Espriella was elected president of Colombia Sunday, securing a victory for the right against the left-wing senator Ivan Cepeda. The runoff election was a relatively close race: De la Espriella secured 49.7 percent of the vote, with Cepeda receiving 48.7 percent.
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A social media–savvy populist, De la Espriella ran a law-and-order campaign that promised a harsh crackdown on organized crime, including strengthening the military in response to the endemic guerilla violence in the countryside. He pledged to sharply cut government spending and align Colombia more closely with the United States, and he received the endorsement of President Donald Trump.
His opponent, Cepeda, campaigned on continuing current President Gustavo Petro’s efforts to secure peace by negotiation with the cartels and rebel groups and advocated for overhauling Colombia’s welfare state to provide greater support for impoverished and rural communities.
De la Espriella’s victory continues a trend of South American countries swinging rightwards, a reversal of the “Pink Tide” that saw the region dominated by left-wing governments in recent years.
