Colombian protests vow ‘resistance’ to right-wing rule

BOGOTA – Thousands of leftist Colombians spilled onto the streets of Cali and Bogota on June 21 to protest against hard-right President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella’s narrow election win.

Indigenous music provided a soundtrack to the initially peaceful march through Cali’s Puerto Resistencia neighbourhood.

But as de la Espriella – who is backed by US President Donald Trump – made a triumphant speech in the Caribbean city of Barranquilla, protesters in Colombia’s third-largest city burned US flags while others clashed with riot police, who were using tear gas on the crowd.

Hundreds more in Bogota, mostly young demonstrators, gathered outside the national university in defiance of preliminary results that gave de la Espriella 49.66 per cent over leftist candidate Ivan Cepeda’s 48.7 per cent.

“I firmly believe that we need someone who looks out for all of us, not just for a few,” 26-year-old student Natalia told AFP.

“We have already had many years of right-wing governments that care only about making the rich richer and about getting rid not of poverty, but of the poor,” she said.

Demonstrations in the capital took a violent turn, with some people setting fire to barricades and lobbing objects at police, who used tear gas.

Other protesters posed next to a Cepeda float as honking horns, roaring motorbike engines and shouts of “resistance!” filled the air.

De la Espriella’s bombastic electoral campaign divided Colombia, with his supporter base eagerly awaiting a return to right-wing governance after the country’s first leftist President Gustavo Petro’s four-year stint in office.

Petro had alleged electoral fraud after the first round of voting, which brought de la Espriella and Cepeda to a run-off.

Cepeda stopped short of conceding defeat in a speech on the evening of June 21, telling supporters he would wait until all the votes were validated.

Some Cepeda voters protesting against the results in Bogota were convinced of wrongdoing throughout the electoral process.

“Many of the votes that Abelardo received are not genuine,” Isabella Giraldo, who works in her family business, told AFP.

“They may be the result of vote-buying or altered ballots. That is why we are taking to the streets,” the 26-year-old added.

The President-elect, whose former legal career saw him defending drug-traffickers and fraudsters, has pledged to crack down on crime as well as the country’s myriad armed groups via bombing campaigns and the construction of mega-prisons.

He also advocates for fracking, an environmentally harmful gas and petroleum extraction process that is a red line for many left-leaning voters.

“The guy is against nature,” Andres Penuela, a 21-year-old business employee, told AFP.

“The guy isn’t going to contribute anything to the country,” he added.

During his campaign, the President-elect called for the left to be “gutted”, but later toned down his words.

His speech on June 21 struck a conciliatory tone, vowing to respect democratic principles and govern for “all Colombians”.

“For every injustice we see or every right they take away from us, there will be a new protest. Now, it is up to the government whether it is peaceful or not,” Giraldo said.

The new government “doesn’t represent me as a young person”, said 19-year-old student Brandon. “We are going to see many more demonstrations.” AFP