Posted on 05/31/2026 5:22:41 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Colombia's presidential election will go to a runoff on 21 June between a leftist and right-wing candidate on opposite ends of the political spectrum, after Sunday's vote produced no overall winner.
The right-wing Abelardo de la Espriella, an admirer of Donald Trump, came top in the vote, followed closely by the left-wing senator Iván Cepeda, an ally of the current president Gustavo Petro.
The campaign was plagued with violence, including drone strikes, kidnappings, homicides and the assassination of a presidential candidate at a rally last year.
Both men offer differing visions for how to solve Colombia's violent internal armed conflict that has lasted for decades but has resurged in recent years.
On Sunday, neither candidate achieved more than 50% of the vote to win outright.
While polls tipped Cepeda to finish ahead of his right-wing challenger, official results showed that he trailed, with 41% of votes compared to De la Espriella's 43.7%, with almost all ballots counted.
Cepeda was actively involved in the peace talks that led to a historic deal in 2016 between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrilla group, which led to the disarmament of thousands of rebel fighters.
He is often described as an architect of the "total peace" strategy of President Petro, Colombia first left-wing president, which prioritises dialogue and negotiations with armed groups during ceasefires, over military intervention.
Under President Petro's presidency, cocaine production hit a record high, membership of armed groups grew, and violence on the border surged to its worst level in years, displacing tens of thousands of people. This has led his critics and many security analysts to denounce "total peace" as a failed strategy, though Petro has argued his government has seized the largest amount of drugs in history.
The economy has grown, and Petro increased the minimum wage significantly,...
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
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“The campaign was plagued with violence, including drone strikes, kidnappings, homicides and the assassination of a presidential candidate at a rally last year.”
Whoops, I was thinking of the other “Colombia”, as in Columbia University. Everything above made sense, with the exception of the Leftists killing a candidate for a college election (but I never put anything past the Left).
In my Colombian era
(I was allied with Victor Carranza…fortuitous you can google him)
The presidents alternated parties every term
Colombia has basically been in civil war to varying degrees since WWI
at least
Great country though proud nationalistic peoples despite all that
And las mujeres …kind of like southern girls
I’m not the only poster btw with extensive Colombia experience
There’s a few of us
I see now it’s kind of a tourist destination
I’d like to see that concert amphitheater in the sky
I think it’s near Armenia or Periera
All they want to do is dance?
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