Right-wing lawyer De La Espriella wins Colombia’s tough presidential race | Election News

Right-wing lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella, who won with the support of Donald Trump, has sealed a narrow victory in the run-off election.

Right-wing lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella has won Colombia’s presidential election. reelectionaccording to the original number of votes.

Abelardo de la Espriella won 49.7% of the votes against Senator Ivan Cepeda’s 48.70%, with 99.9% of the results released by the electoral authorities early Monday.

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Cepeda63, he promised to keep the policies of President Gustavo Petro, the former rebel and the country’s first left-wing president, including popular social policies and continuity. peace talks with armed forces.

De La Espriella, on the other hand, has accused Petro of being the one who is causing economic and security problems in the country, promising to end negotiations with terrorists while increasing the share of oil and gas and lowering taxes.

“I will rule all Colombians,” De La Espriella told a crowd gathered in the coastal city of Barranquilla.

Earlier he celebrated the invitation of the President of the United States Donald Trump. De La Espriella is a citizen of the US and Italy and has homes in several countries.

“It’s a victory for Colombia – a change after four years of loss without clear guidelines,” Viviana Olivos, a 46-year-old mechanic who attended the event, told Reuters.

Turn right

From Espriella’s victory to return to the power of the right wing of Colombia, which has ruled all but four of the past 200 years.

But the closeness of the race will force Mr. De La Espriella to scale back his plans for the support of a divided Congress.

A lawyer, who has no political experience, will also have to deal with a lot of public debt. He has presented himself as an entrepreneur, but an investigation by the La Silla Vacia shopping center found that many of his businesses were liquidated, in debt and lost all money.

Major business organizations congratulated De La Espriella for his success, while the upper and middle classes in Bogota and Medellin celebrated.

More than 26.3 million Colombians cast ballots, out of 41.4 million eligible voters.

Cepeda told his supporters at an event held in Bogota that he will wait for the final evaluation, voting and early voting, saying that his campaign has difficult results from about 33,000 ballot boxes, out of a total of 122,000.

“We are ready to negotiate; we are ready to reach an agreement as long as it is honorable, true, and reflected in politics that benefits the country and preserves the history we have already achieved,” said Cepeda.

Security causes serious problems

Security was a major concern for many of De La Espriella’s voters, especially in areas where extortion and drug trafficking have recently increased.

Left-wing militias and gangs founded by former right-wing militias have been fighting each other and the government for more than 60 years.

During the campaign, De La Espriella said he would end peace talks with rebel groups and launch a 90-day campaign against them with US support.

In the 10 years since the landmark peace agreement was signed with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), much of Colombia has improved. But cartels and opposition groups still control the country’s pockets.

“Rancour has won again. Unfortunately, we are in a country where inequality continues,” Cepeda’s supporter Margarita Restrepo told Reuters.

Around his neck, he had a picture of his daughter, Carol Vanessa Restrepo, who disappeared in 2002 during the security crackdown ordered by former President Alvaro Uribe, Cepeda’s long-time enemy and De La Espriella’s supporter.

Colombia’s vote follows a shift to the right, with voters in Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Bolivia and Ecuador all electing right-wing presidents in their recent elections.