‘Institutional threat’: election of far-right leader raises fears for democracy in Colombia

De la Espriella wearing a football-style shirt in Colombian colours. He has turned the country’s national football shirt into a symbol of the far right. Photograph: Mauricio Dueñas Castañeda/EPA View image in fullscreen De la Espriella wearing a football-style shirt in Colombian colours. He has turned the country’s national football shirt into a symbol of the far right. Photograph: Mauricio Dueñas Castañeda/EPA Analysis ‘Institutional threat’: election of far-right leader raises fears for democracy in Colombia Tiago Rogero in Bogotá Trump-admiring Abelardo de la Espriella has vowed to ‘disembowel’ the left and kill criminals like ‘rats and cockroaches’ When more than 20 women accused a Colombian evangelical pastor in 2012 of sexually abusing them, the defendant’s lawyer sought to discredit the allegations by telling the court that they were “ trepadoras ” – a pejorative term meaning social climbers. He ultimately secured his client’s acquittal – although the case remains under review by the supreme court – but footage of the remark resurfaced during Colombia’s presidential campaign, sparking outrage among many progressive voters. Yesterday, that lawyer was elected Colombia’s next president. Far-right millionaire wins Colombia’s razor-tight presidential election Read more Abelardo de la Espriella, who calls himself “El Tigre” (The Tiger), a millionaire who launched his legal career defending paramilitary leaders and has never held public office, defeated the leftwing senator Iván Cepeda by a razor-thin margin of just 250,000 votes out of an electorate of 41 million. On 7 August, he will replace Gustavo Petro, the country’s first and only leftist president, marking a sharp swing back to the right for the country – and De la Espriella is seen as considerably further to the right than Colombia’s long line of conservative presidents. Although De la Espriella said in his victory speech that he would respect the constitution and the rights of “all Colombians”, the election of a 47-year-old self-styled “outsider” who promised to “disembowel” the left, use lethal force against protesters and kill criminals like “rats and cockroaches”, has left many analysts and activists concerned about the risks he could pose to Colombian democracy. “It frightens me,” said Catalina Ruiz-Navarro, a co-founder and editor of the feminist magazine Volcánicas. “Despite Colombia’s strong institutions, we’re facing an institutional threat unlike anything we’ve experienced before.” View image in fullscreen A supporter of De la Espriella holds up a soft toy in reference to his self-styled El Tigre nickname. Photograph: Jair Coll/Reuters His election is also the latest confirmation of a far-right wave sweeping presidential elections across Latin America. An outspoken admirer of the US president, Donald Trump, who endorsed his campaign, De la Espriella has drawn inspiration from him and other conservative leaders in the region, particularly El Salvador’s populist autocrat, Nayib Bu