Weekly Report - 25 June 2026 (WR-26-25)

Abelardo de la Espriella won the second round of Colombia’s presidential elections on 21 June. His margin of victory was smaller than polls had forecast but the far-right populist squeezed home against Senator Iván Cepeda, the continuity candidate of the ruling left-wing coalition Pacto Histórico, by some 250,000 votes in over 25m cast. De la Espriella’s victory speech was more unifying than his divisive rhetoric during the campaign, which could suggest that while he adopted many of the tropes and promises that have proved successful for far-right populist leaders across the region he might seek a pragmatic relationship with established political parties in congress given the paucity of seats won by his political movement in the March elections.