Colombia Holds Presidential Elections This Sunday May 31st
After the campaign: What kind of country will be left to govern?
The final stretch of Colombia’s presidential campaign has left the country captive to polarization, political violence, and rhetoric that erodes democratic coexistence.
By Fidel Cano (Latinoamérica21)
HAVANA TIMES — Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Colombia this Sunday, May 31, 2026. Incumbent President Gustavo Petro, elected in 2022 is constitutionally barred from seeking a second term. To win on the first round of voting a candidate must receive over 50% of the valid votes. If no candidate achieves that, a second round will take place on June 21 between the top two finishers on Sunday.
Having reached the last week of campaigning before Colombia’s first-round presidential election, the country is flooded with aggression. From acts of violence – like the murder of two of Abelardo de la Espriella’s campaign workers; or the vandalizing of campaign offices belonging to Paloma Valencia and Ivan Cepeda — to the rhetoric of the candidates themselves and their countless surrogates, hostility has become the coin of the day.
[While there are 10 candidates, Ivan Cepeda, Paloma Valencia and Abelardo de la Espriella are expected to be the leaders in the voting.]
It would seem as though the only way to capture attention in a world dominated by algorithms is to inflame people’s emotions, appeal to their lowest instincts, portray the opponent as a deplorable enemy, and place your bets on being able to eradicate any opposing ideas, at least on the moral plane. It all raises a question: once the electoral smoke clears, what kind of country will be left to govern?
Deliberation has been non-existent. In addition to the absence of debate, with candidates that are most comfortable speaking in spaces where no challenging questions or alternative viewpoints are expressed – which would at least be good to hear and analyze – each campaign has referenced the other in a purely confrontational way, rife with personal attacks. President Petro himself, and several of his ministers have joined the fray with considerable enthusiasm. Despite the prohibition against participating in partisan politics, members of the government have missed no opportunity to cite opposition posts and employ stigmatizing language against certain candidacies, leaving it very clear which candidate the Casa de Nariño [Presidential headquarters] prefers.
Nor has the opposition shown signs of decency or civility. They have framed the democratic process as a “spiritual war,” and spread the idea that this will be the last free election if Ivan Cepeda, the ruling party’s candidate, wins. They’ve even fought amongst themselves, accusing one another of crimes and disgraceful behavior.
Few actual platform proposals can be heard when the objective is to generate the greatest buzz on social media. For example, reading the X accounts of the main campaign strategists is like entering a nest of disinformation, manipulation, and messaging designed to position the idea that we are on the brink of a catastrophic abyss. There’s no room for moderation, for nuanced positions, or for any recognition that our reality requires multiple points of view to be understood.
We are therefore subjected to an election where clownishness, memes, and anger prevail. The problem is that these hate-filled discourses are eroding the collective consciousness of Colombia as a shared project, where citizens who think differently aren’t enemies, but people with whom we need to coexist. The concept of “enemy” can be easily blurred, so that people fear differences and flee the possibility of compromise. Romanticizing social protest that becomes vandalism leads to a troubling complicity with the destruction of campaign spaces, while, in response, the idea gains traction that the only solution is a heavy-handed approach that sweeps away citizens’ rights.
The supposed moral superiority of some over others, far from being elevated rhetoric, is nothing more than another way of creating dichotomies of good people and bad people, where those who don’t vote a certain way are flawed citizens. Amid so much aggression, what will happen once there is a new occupant in the Casa de Nariño and the other half of the country feels excluded?