Yolanda Hernández, a 49-year-old worker who recycles trash for a living, cast her vote for conservative outsider Abelardo de la Espriella in Colombia's presidential runoff. Hernández, who previously voted for outgoing President Gustavo Petro in 2022, stated that Petro was unable to deliver on promises meant to help the poor due to congressional gridlock, and that "everything is more expensive." Her decision reflects the ongoing struggle of the working class against rising costs and the failure of existing political structures to address fundamental economic hardship.
Voters are choosing between de la Espriella, a business owner and lawyer, and Iván Cepeda, a lawmaker and heir to the political movement of President Petro. Both candidates, who defeated nine other contenders in a May 31 vote, are pitching strategies to prevent what they describe as a return to the "nonstop merciless violence" of previous decades, including car bombs, kidnappings, disappearances, and forced displacements.
De la Espriella proposes a heavy-handed approach to security, including building 10 mega-prisons, a policy emulating El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, which has been linked to accusations of human rights abuses. This strategy has earned him the endorsement of U.S. President Donald Trump, signaling the alignment of international capital with state repression.
Cepeda, on the other hand, promises to continue Petro’s efforts, including attempts at establishing dialogue with multiple illegal armed groups. This "total peace" strategy, which Petro kicked off in its fourth year, has been heavily criticized and has largely failed to achieve its objectives, demonstrating the limits of reformist approaches within the existing system.
The Illusion of Choice
Beyond security, the candidates offer differing solutions for Colombia’s struggling health system, ballooning public debt, and entrenched corruption. These systemic issues continue to concentrate wealth upward while the majority bears the cost.
Petro, without evidence, sowed doubts in the results after Cepeda, who had consistently led polls ahead of the May vote, did not win outright and even finished behind de la Espriella. Petro reiterated his allegations on Sunday, stating, "We must protect the vote, undoubtedly." He added that his movement would provide details about "all the accounts and funds that were transacted from abroad," alleging that unidentified actors "tried to enslave the people of Colombia by taking away their freedom to decide." These claims point to the influence of external capital in shaping the electoral process.
More than 41 million people are eligible to vote. Yolanda Hernández, the trash recycler, noted that clients buy black-ink pens to prevent fraud on paper ballots, highlighting the lack of trust in the electoral mechanisms designed to manage the system.
Capital's Order, Labor's Burden
The election takes place 10 years after Colombia signed a historic peace pact with guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which had offered hope to break the nation’s cycle of fighting. However, violence has since roared back, particularly as most rebel groups abandoned their ideologically driven fight for the financial benefits of drug trafficking. This shift illustrates how capital accumulation can adapt and thrive even amidst conflict, transforming political struggle into a means of profit.
Last year, authorities recorded 14,780 homicides, the most since at least 2015, driven by clashes among illegal armed groups. Extortions also soared, reaching 13,417 cases one year ago, more than double the number tallied in 2015. These figures represent the human cost of a system where economic desperation and the pursuit of illicit profits fuel perpetual conflict.
De la Espriella, nicknamed “The Tiger,” has promised to fiercely go after criminals, reinforcing the state's role as an enforcer of order that protects accumulated wealth, often at the expense of civil liberties. Fernando Lozano, 34, who decided to vote for the first time in a decade, expressed skepticism about this combative approach, stating, "You can’t just go there and confront them and expect everything to be resolved in six months. That takes years."
John Manrique, a lawyer in Bogota, expressed concern about the existing polarization, stating, "there are two very extreme sides, and the violence is concerning." He hoped for social consensus, but such calls often mask the underlying class antagonisms that drive the conflict.
The lead-up to the runoff has been marked by increased verbal attacks, accusations of fraud, vote-buying, and intimidation. Cepeda filed a complaint with the Colombian Attorney General’s Office and the International Criminal Court against de la Espriella, accusing him of having ties to paramilitary groups, an allegation de la Espriella has denied. These accusations underscore the deep-seated corruption and power struggles that characterize the political landscape, serving to maintain the existing distribution of wealth and power.