Conservative leader Abelardo de la Espriella is the official winner of the presidential elections in Colombia, the National Electoral Council (CNE) announced after the final vote count, El Tiempo reported.
He received 49.66% of the vote, while his runoff opponent, Ivan Cepeda, received 48.70%. the difference in the number of votes exceeds 250 thousand.
The victory of the famous lawyer and political commentator marks a sharp right turn for the South American country, after the previous left-wing government handed power to one of the most radical critics of socialism in the region.
Donald Trump, who previously expressed strong support for De la Espriella's campaign, issued an official congratulatory message, describing his triumph as a “historic event for freedom and security in the Western Hemisphere“.
The new leader's platform: Law, order and economic liberalism
Abelardo de la Espriella's election campaign focused on several fundamental promises that mobilized the country's conservative and business electorate:
- A hard hand against the cartels: The new president has promised an uncompromising war against drug cartels and criminal syndicates, playing on the security model popular in Latin America, implemented by Nayib Bukele in El Salvador.
- Radical economic reforms: His program calls for massive cuts in government spending, tax breaks for foreign investors, and privatization in key sectors to stimulate the economy.
- Foreign Policy and Geopolitics: De la Espriella has already declared his intention to fully restore the strategic alliance with the United States and tighten his position towards the leftist regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba.
Reactions and geopolitical repercussions
De la Espriella's victory fundamentally changes the political map of South America. While conservative circles in the US and the region celebrate the vote as a “wall against the leftist wave“, leftist coalitions in Colombia have expressed concern that the new administration could exacerbate social tensions in the country.
In his first speech as newly elected head of state, De la Espriella called for national unity, but was categorical that “the era of compromise with disorder and impunity is over“.