THEAMERICANCONSERVATIVE (Joseph Addington) - Right-Wing Candidate de la Espriella Wins Colombian Presidential Election
State of the Union: The close-fought election sustains Latin America’s rightward trend. The post Right-Wing Candidate de la Espriella Wins Colombian Presidential Election appeared first on The American Conservative .
Abelardo de la Espriella was elected president of Colombia Sunday, securing a victory for the right against the left-wing senator Ivan Cepeda. The runoff election was a relatively close race: De la Espriella secured 49.7 percent of the vote, with Cepeda receiving 48.7 percent. A social media–savvy populist, De la Espriella ran a law-and-order campaign that promised a harsh crackdown on organized crime, including strengthening the military in response to the endemic guerilla violence in the countryside. He pledged to sharply cut government spending and align Colombia more closely with the United States, and he received the endorsement of President Donald Trump. His opponent, Cepeda, campaigned on continuing current President Gustavo…Open