Many in Colombia fear the election of a former guerrilla could ruin the country, while others fear the election of an oligarch could reignite mass human rights violations. While both candidates have claimed to represent hope for the country, it has been mainly concerns about the opponent that have dominated the campaign. The conservative Ivan Duque, who has the support of hard-right former President Alvaro Uribe and all traditional parties, has threatened to “restructure” an ongoing peace process and renegotiate terms for ongoing peace talks with the ELN.
His opponent, the leftist Gustavo Petro, has said he wants to push Colombia beyond war and tackle the corruption and human rights violations that have battered the legitimacy of the state.
The highly emotional campaigns have polarized the population and removed the moderates from the race in the first round of elections last week.
Full Article: Why Colombia’s elections are dominated by fear.
