Newfoundland & Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador Opinion

Share this Story : PNI Atlantic News Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

GWYNNE DYER: How Colombia's new president could ignite a powder keg

Colombia has a long history of violence, and its newly-elected president is promising to deal with the country's drug problem

“He won, BIG!” exulted Donald Trump on Truth Social, welcoming the victory of Abelardo De La Espriella, his preferred candidate for the presidency of Colombia, in the June 21 election.

Subscribe now to access this story and more:

Unlimited access to the website and app

Exclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcasts

Full access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on

Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists

Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists

Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.

Unlimited access to the website and app

Exclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcasts

Full access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on

Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists

Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists

Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.

Access additional stories every month

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting community

Get email updates from your favourite authors

Sign In or Create an Account

In fact, De La Espriella’s win was only very small, less than one per cent ahead of his left-wing opponent in the popular vote, but he did win. One per cent is enough.

Meanwhile, in Peru, right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori is certain to win the vote count in Peru’s presidential election.

This leaves only four left-wing democratic governments still standing in all of Latin America, and two of them are very small: Uruguay and Guatemala. The ‘pink tide’ of the region’s recent political history has definitely gone out again.

Apart from the two giant hold-outs, Brazil and Mexico, Latin America is now almost wall-to-wall Trump-style populist regimes — and Brazil’s 80-year-old president, Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva, could easily lose the presidential election in October. The polls consistently show him tied with right-wing populist Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the imprisoned former........

© PNI Atlantic news