Left-wing candidate Iván Cepeda and far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella will compete in the second round of Colombia’s presidential elections , scheduled for June 21. With more than 99% of the ballots counted, Espriella obtained 43% of the electorate (10,316,370 votes) and Cepeda, 41% (9,656,799) in the election this Sunday (31).

Espriella surpassed the projections of the voting intention polls and in recent days captured part of the electorate of the third force in the election, Paloma Valencia. While the Uribe-aligned senator appeared with 16% in the polls, this Sunday only 6% of voters chose her.

Polling stations closed after a peaceful day, amidst a truce with the main guerrilla groups. The government mobilized 408,000 security forces to maintain order. Votes were cast on paper, but the count is digital.

To guarantee the transparency of the election, the National Electoral Council (CNE) announced the largest election observation mission ever. It includes 1,500 international observers, five times the number from the previous election, and 14,000 national observers. The presence of systems auditors has also been significantly expanded.

Iván Cepeda, a 63-year-old senator and ally of current president Gustavo Petro (who cannot be re-elected), defends the continuation of social programs and policies aimed at the poorest. Meanwhile, Abelardo de la Espriella, a 47-year-old millionaire lawyer with an anti-establishment discourse, represents the far right.

In Colombia, reelection is prohibited, and many see this election as a kind of plebiscite regarding Petro’s four years in government. He started out discredited, with low approval ratings, but gained popular support by radicalizing his project, moving further to the left.

Political analyst and historian Miguel Stédile said during the podcast O Estrangeiro , on Rádio Brasil de Fato , that Petro “knew the limited time he had and the opportunities, and he picked the fights because perhaps he wouldn’t have another opportunity to pick those fights.”

“In moments when this correlation was unfavorable, in particular, I always remember the discussion of labor reform, which ended a pent-up demand of years, decades, in Colombia, for the recognition of professions such as domestic workers, app workers, and advanced women’s rights, all in one fell swoop, in a single law, which was in dispute with Congress for a year, a year and a half, and Petro used May 1st to mobilize the population for this,” he explains.

Historically, Colombia was the United States’ main strategic and military ally in Latin America, occupying a crucial geographical position due to its border with Venezuela and its presence in the Amazon. But, in the last four years, under Petro, the country has undergone a structural change, adopting a posture of sovereignty and alignment with progressive governments in the region (such as Brazil and Mexico).

The loss of this influence generated strong concern in Washington, culminating in allegations of foreign interference, such as Hondurasgate . The scandal revealed an alliance of the continental far-right, with alleged US support, and the creation of a “digital unit” to destabilize progressive governments, such as Petro’s.

Colombia under Petro stood out globally for its firm defense of Human Rights, even formally denouncing the State of Israel and the USA for genocide against the Palestinian people. Undeniably, the government of the Historic Pact, which ends in August 2026, represented a break with the old Colombian oligarchy.

Among his main achievements, one can mention the Agrarian Reform , with more than 2 million hectares formalized and delivered to rural communities. Unemployment fell to 9.2%, the lowest of the century, 1.6 million people escaped monetary poverty, and the minimum wage accumulated a 23.4% increase.

During this period, solar energy generation surpassed that of coal, and national deforestation was reduced by 39%. A world record for cocaine seizures (3,417 tons) was also registered, along with full repayment of the debt to the IMF.

The 2026 presidential elections will decide the continuity of this project and “everything it symbolizes,” says Stédile.

“Petro’s victory was already quite difficult, as all elections in Colombia have been, including those won by right-wing candidates, due to the complex context of Colombian politics for almost 100 years. There are no simple victories in Colombia,” he says.

Cepeda’s running mate is Aida Quilcué , an indigenous leader and senator. Their platform proposes Three Revolutions:

• Ethical Revolution: Radical transformation in political culture and the fight against corruption and violence.

• Economic and Social Revolution: Focus on overcoming poverty and redistributing land.

• Political and Democratic Revolution: Expanding popular participation and seeking peace with social justice.

One of the hallmarks of this election campaign is the so-called Project Jupiter, a massive digital strategy orchestrated by right-wing think tanks and business leaders to sow fear and uncertainty among the population, aiming to destabilize Cepeda’s candidacy.

“The right wing has a modus operandi : they carry out attacks, kill many people, and transform this into a climate of war, an insecurity that calls into question the peace agreements defended by President Petro and candidate Iván Cepeda, and questions the vice-presidential candidate. It’s a rehearsed script to try to create a climate that doesn’t exist for the population,” journalist Leonardo Wexell Severo, from the ComunicaSul Agency, told Brasil de Fato in Bogotá covering the election.

The outcome of the election is seen as a decisive milestone not only for the future of Colombia, but for the balance of power throughout Latin America.