Abelardo de la Espriella Poised for Colombian Presidency
PoliticsComments
Rural polling is one thing, but the urban centers in Medellin and Bogota are showing a different trend. The OP ignores the urban rural divide that usually determines if these populist winners can actually govern without immediate gridlock.
If the rural support is that strong... does this mean we will see a total shift in how Colombia handles its environmental policies and rainforest protections? I wonder if the Trump endorsement includes specific trade deals on those resources...
Calling him poised to win might be premature. In Colombia, the Consejo Nacional Electoral's process for handling contested ballots can take weeks and often triggers constitutional court interventions before a victory is certified.
The certification process is just a formality now. Look at the polling shifts in the rural heartlands: the populist surge there is so overwhelming that no court is going to overturn those margins.
This feels like a mirror image of the Petro surge a few years ago. The pendulum in Bogota tends to swing violently between extremes whenever the incumbent's economic promises fail to materialize.