©picture alliance / Anadolu | Cristian Acosta
Colombia is experiencing unrest in its streets following the narrow election victory of right-wing nationalist lawyer and businessman Abelardo De La Espriella.
In the city of Cali, protests escalated into riots on Sunday evening, with demonstrators setting American flags on fire and clashing with riot police. De La Espriella is, after all, a supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Police used tear gas to disperse a crowd of several thousand people. Some protesters were carrying stones and iron bars. The unrest followed the preliminary results of the presidential election, in which De La Espriella narrowly defeated left-wing Senator Iván Cepeda.
According to the quick count, De La Espriella received 49.66 percent of the vote, while Cepeda received 48.7 percent. The margin is approximately 246,000 votes. Although De La Espriella has already declared himself the winner and thanked his supporters on social media, the results are not yet final. The legally binding count is not expected for several days.
A Tiger with a Heart for Trump
The 47-year-old politician, nicknamed “El Tigre,” distinguished himself during his campaign with a tough rhetoric on security, economic growth, and a significant reduction in the size of the government. He wants to halt peace talks with armed groups and replace them with a tougher military approach. He also wants to restart oil exploration, allow fracking (a technique for extracting oil or gas from deep rock layers), and nearly double production to 1.3 million barrels per day.
His victory, he says, marks the beginning of “a new era” for Colombia. In his victory speech, he promised to restore order and safeguard democratic freedoms. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated him on his victory and said he looked forward to closer cooperation on security, migration, and trade.
The ties with Washington are by no means welcomed by everyone. For many opponents, De La Espriella symbolizes a sharp shift to the right, partly due to his admiration for leaders such as Javier Milei and Nayib Bukele. His proposal to build ten mega-prisons and crack down on drug cartels also fits this image.
Cepeda has not yet accepted defeat and is contesting the results from thousands of polling stations. President Gustavo Petro has also indicated that he will only recognize the final tally. This makes it clear that Colombia is not yet out of the electoral battle.
©picture alliance / Anadolu | Cristian Acosta