Colombia chooses to follow Petro's social model or turn right today

Colombians have an election date with the ballot box this Sunday to elect President Gustavo Petro's successor in an election race that is limited to Ivan Cepeda , a supporter of his social model, and those who advocate turning right to Abelardo de la Espriella and Paloma Valencia.

There are 41.1 million Colombians registered on the electoral roll, including residents abroad, who have been able to vote this week. On this occasion, only the President and Vice-President, who were legislators in March, will be elected by the electorate.

In order to avoid a second round, any candidate must exceed 50% of the vote. According to some polls, the only one able to do so is Cepeda, who has led the polls throughout the campaign and is assured of moving to the second round on June 21 at least.

Cepeda has promisedto follow the progressive agenda of President Gustavo Petro , to strengthen the state's presence in pensions and health, among other things, and to relaunch any peace negotiation process with armed groups that stop killing social leaders.

The most optimistic polls give Cepeda 44% of the vote, and the most cautious 10 points less. The Historic Testament candidate, however, risks being a loser in a hypothetical run-off, given that some conservative force is foreseeable.

The most likely to discuss this dominance of Cepeda in the polls is the far-right businessman Abelardo de la Espriella , who has declared himself an outsider .

The third is Senator Paloma Valencia , a member of a dynasty of conservative politicians like former President Guillermo León Valencia.