Coming second in the first round, Ivan Cepeda, senator, philosopher and human rights defender, will face Abelardo de la Espriella, a candidate from the hard right who advocates an iron fist in matters of security.
The second round of the presidential election in Colombia will see an ally of the outgoing left-wing president Gustavo Petro and a millionaire lawyer who admires Donald Trump and advocates firmness against crime.
Coming second in the first round on Sunday, Ivan Cepeda, senator, philosopher and human rights defender, is the runner-up to Gustavo Petro, the first left-wing head of state in the history of Colombia. He was one of the architects of “total peace”, a policy by which the government attempted, unsuccessfully, to negotiate with armed groups.
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On June 21, he will face Abelardo de la Espriella, a hard-right candidate who advocates an iron fist when it comes to security. This candidate who rejects the political class and likes to be called “The Tiger” is seeking elected office for the first time, after leaving behind a luxurious life in Italy.
Cepeda, the defender of human rights
Ivan Cepeda, 63, is the son of a communist senator assassinated by police allied to the paramilitaries in the 1990s. The violence targeting left-wing leaders at that time forced him to go into exile on several occasions, notably in Bulgaria and Cuba.
Upon his return to Colombia, he became an advocate for victims of the armed conflict and played a key role in the negotiations for the peace agreement with the state in 2016 which led to the disarmament of the Farc guerrillas. HAS”I survived genocide, stigma and relentless persecution. And I’m still here, standing“, he said during the campaign, dressed in a traditional Caribbean shirt, without a tie.
This progressive, admirer of Gandhi and sworn enemy of conservative ex-president Alvaro Uribe, advocates the continuation of the social reforms initiated by Gustavo Petro, whom he describes as “révolutions» including a significant increase in the minimum wage. His placid tone, his reserved attitude contrast with the verve and vehemence of his mentor, a former member of a guerrilla. Although he lived in the Soviet bloc, Ivan Cepeda rejects communism and bets on a “productive capitalismanddiversifiéHAS”. His opponents call him “heir to the Farc» and accuse him of having been the ideologue of Gustavo Petro’s peace policy.
De la Espriella, the “outsider”
Abelardo de la Espriella, 47, is a millionaire lawyer and businessman who introduces himself as “outsider“They don’t belong to the country”the political casteHAS”. He says he entered politics to prevent Colombia from being “destroy» from the left.
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In a Colombia strongly imbued with Catholicism, this father of four children claims to have “found GodHAS”. Of Colombian and American nationality, Abelardo de la Espriella says he is an admirer of the leaders of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, of Argentina, Javier Milei, and of American President Donald Trump. Always dressed in impeccable suits, he defended many of the country’s personalities, including drug traffickers and football stars.
Before running for president, he lived in the Italian city of Florence, doing business in rum and wine and traveling by private jet. To combat armed groups in the country, the world’s leading producer of cocaine, he proposes a military alliance with the United States and Israel and the construction of mega-prisons. He also wants to reduce the size of the state by 40%. During the campaign he was accused of sexism – he claimed that women voted for him because of the size of his genitals – and homophobic remarks, but this did not affect his popularity.
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