Update on Colombia
"anthonyboynton via groups.io" <[email protected]> Sun, 26 Jul 2026 11:35:59 -0700
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--BbXT8ctCnIggYt0pLCYL Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable https://againstthecurrent.org/colombia-and-latin-america-a-new-stage-of-the= -struggle/ ******************************************************* Colombia and Latin America: A New Stage of the Struggle ******************************************************* --------------------------------------------------- Ted Zuur ( https://againstthecurrent.org/ted-zuur ) --------------------------------------------------- The Colombian National Election Council declared Abelardo de la Espriella t= he winner in the presidential run off June 21. When on the campaign trail h= e saluted to the slogan =E2=80=9CSteadfast for the homeland,=E2=80=9D May 2= 5, 2026. CC0 1.0 SPRAWLING OVER THE southern hills of Bogot=C3=A1, Ciudad Bolivar is a vast = proletarian neighborhood of 700,000 people. On July 20, the first of Colomb= ia=E2=80=99s two Independence days, it was the center of a national celebra= tion of the country=E2=80=99s independence, replete with military ceremony = =E2=80=94 combined with the start of a mass campaign of resistance against = the unprecedented attack against Colombian sovereignty represented by U.S. = interference in the presidential election that appears to have placed an ex= treme rightwing candidate, Abelardo de la Espriella, in the office of the p= residency of this country. More than 100,000 people filled the parking lot of the Gran Plaza El Ensue= =C3=B1o shopping mall and all the surrounding streets for blocks, to hear t= he farewell speech of outgoing President Gustavo Petro, the first ever left= wing president of this country and a central leader of the party known as t= he Pacto Historico (Historic Pact). Simultaneously, demonstrations were held in every city of the country and i= n many small towns. Colombia remains a key epicenter of the class struggle in Latin America and= of the struggle between the United States and Latin America, but following= this year=E2=80=99s elections, the conditions of that struggle have radica= lly changed. Legislative elections on March 8 made the Pacto Historico, the rising leftw= ing party here, the biggest party in Colombia in almost every respect. Howe= ver, in the first round of the presidential election on May 31, the extreme= rightwing dark horse, Abelardo de la Espriella, came in first with 10,361,= 499 votes to force a runoff with the Pacto Historico =E2=80=99s Senator Iva= n Cepeda, who came in second with 9,688,361 votes. The official candidate of the rightwing Centro Democratico, the party of fo= rmer rightwing authoritarian President Alvaro Uribe, came in a distant thir= d with only 1,639,685 votes. Then in the June 21 runoff, the National Election Council=E2=80=99s officia= l vote count gave Abelardo de la Espriella 12,959,542 votes, less than 1% m= ore than the 12,708,712 votes of Senator Ivan Cepeda. (There were 13 candid= ates on the ballot.) The voter turnout of 63.6% was a record for this count= ry. De la Espriella is a lawyer who has specialized in defending corrupt politi= cians and businessmen, paramilitary leaders and drug dealers. For most of t= he last 20 years he has lived in Florida and Tuscany; he is a citizen of th= e United States and Italy as well as of Colombia. His made-in-Miami candidacy was advised by MAGA senator from Ohio Bernardo = Moreno (a dual U.S./Colombian citizen like De la Espriella) and endorsed by= U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald J. Trump. When the election results were announced, Trump tweeted, =E2=80=9CHe Won, B= IG!=E2=80=9D Election Fraud -------------- The final official results were announced without addressing the more than = 57,000 challenges to irregularities such as vote buying and electronic frau= d that had already been filed. More than 100,000 people came out to hear the farewell speech of outgoing P= resident Gustavo Petro on July 20. President Gustavo Petro, elected as the candidate of the Pacto Historico in= 2022 and the country=E2=80=99s first ever leftwing president, announced th= at he did not recognize the election as valid. Petro asserted that it had been marked by fraud at the highest level, and s= ubsequently he and others have sued the National Electoral Council, the Reg= istrar of Voters, and the individuals whom they declared victorious. Altoge= ther more than 30 lawsuits have been filed. The central lawsuit targets the actions of the Registrar and the private co= ntractor Thoms Greg and Company, which control the election process from th= e printing of forms to the software used to compile, count, and record vote= s. The Registrar, and the majority of the National Electoral Council, are m= embers of political parties opposed to the Pacto Historico. A seemingly mundane change made after the 2022 election of Petro, enlarging= the E-14 form used at polling stations to record votes from one to two pag= es, is at the heart of the lawsuit. The change puts the signatures of witne= sses and poll workers on a separate page from the record of votes, which cr= eates the possible of falsifying the vote records scanned into the system= =E2=80=99s computers. That change, combined with the massive last-minute addition of hundreds of = thousands of voters to the rolls, were the most important elements of a mas= sive fraud according to the suit. The suit also alleges that the new form h= as also made it impossible for citizens and independent observers to verify= any election results. The lawsuit asks the Council of State, one of the country=E2=80=99s three S= upreme Courts, to nullify the election results, conduct a recount or new el= ection, and order changes to prevent future election fraud. An Attack on National Sovereignty --------------------------------- At the same time, Ivan Cepeda announced that the Pacto Historico did not re= cognize the legitimacy of the election of De la Espriella, on the grounds t= hat De la Espriella is a naturalized citizen of the United States who swore= an oath to renounce all loyalties to countries other than the United State= s in order to become a U.S. citizen, thereby making him ineligible to serve= as President of Colombia and Commander in Chief of its military forces. Cepeda announced the beginning of a campaign of peaceful civil disobedience= against the election fraud, against the attack on Colombia=E2=80=99s natio= nal sovereignty, in defense of the democratic and human rights of Colombian= s and the people of Latin America, and in defense of the significant gains = made by the working class and oppressed of Colombia during Petro=E2=80=99s = government. Despite the official declaration that Abelardo de la Espriella won the pres= idential election, Colombia is far from being under the control of the Unit= ed States and Trump=E2=80=99s Viceroy, Secretary of State Rubio. No Return to Guerrilla Warfare ------------------------------ The Pacto Historico has emphatically rejected the legitimacy of De la Espri= ella=E2=80=99s election and has begun a campaign of resistance based on mas= s protests, peaceful civil disobedience, and legal challenges in court. Par= t of this campaign is a battle to expand the Pacto=E2=80=99s organization t= hrough a membership drive and by preparing to run the largest possible numb= er of candidates in next year=E2=80=99s local elections. Despite the heightened political and social tension within the country, and= between Colombia and the United States, what is not in the cards is a retu= rn of the left to guerrilla warfare or the preparation of an insurrection. Colombia=E2=80=99s long history of armed conflict has left the country with= a powerful desire for peace, which was the basis of Petro=E2=80=99s policy= called Paz Total or Total Peace. The history of the long series of armed conflicts here began with civil war= s between factions of the ruling class organized into the traditional Liber= al and Conservative Parties, devolving into local wars for land between poo= r peasants and large landowners. The peasant forces became part of the orga= nized left, and the landlords=E2=80=99 private armies became rightwing deat= h squads and paramilitaries. Beginning in the 1970s, the rise of illegal drug production created an inte= rsection between the old conflict and a new conflict for control of drug pr= oduction and drug shipment routes. Profits from cocaine and other drugs wer= e used to finance an arms race among armed groups which no side could win. In 1990, M-19 =E2=80=94 one of the principal guerrilla groups =E2=80=94 mad= e a peace agreement and came in from the cold to participate in that year= =E2=80=99s elections. Shortly after the signing, Carlos Pizarro, the presid= ential candidate of M-19 and father of current Pacto Historico Senator Mari= a Jos=C3=A9 Pizarro, was assassinated. Nevertheless, that peace agreement l= ed to the constituent assembly which produced the current Colombian Constit= ution. It did not lead to peace, however, as the government and the paramilitaries= systematically assassinated over 6000 leftwing, social and union leaders, = especially members and supporters of the Uni=C3=B3n Patri=C3=B3tica, a poli= tical party that included supporters of the Communist Party as well as the = FARC, the country=E2=80=99s largest guerrilla group. One of those assassinated was a UP leader Manuel Cepeda, the father of the = current Pacto Historico leader Ivan Cepeda. The terror campaign drove the F= ARC back into the armed struggle and into reliance on the profits of the il= legal drug trade to arm itself. Between 1999 and 2002, the government of President Andres Pastrana negotiat= ed with the FARC while he worked with the United States to reorganize, retr= ain and rearm the Colombian military for an offensive against the FARC. The= joint effort became famous as Bill Clinton=E2=80=99s Plan Colombia. The military offensive was carried out under the leadership of the next Pre= sident, Alvaro Uribe, and his Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos. Santos s= ucceeded Uribe as president, and the offensive finally culminated, after th= e deaths of many FARC leaders and fighters, with a peace agreement in 2016. Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts and the FARC received vari= ous guarantees including seats in the Congress. As a result of the agreemen= t, Colombia established its current system of transitional justice. Since then, low-level armed conflict has continued with the ELN, with forme= r FARC groups which did not support the peace agreement, and with armed dru= g gangs descended from the rightwing paramilitary groups, most notably the = Clan del Golfo some of whose leaders have been clients of Aberlardo de la E= spriella=E2=80=99s law firm. President Petro=E2=80=99s Paz Total offered peace negotiations with all the= se groups regardless of whether they have any kind of political orientation= or are simply criminal gangs. Despite some agreements which led to demobil= izations, and some continuing negotiations, most of these groups continue i= n the illegal drug business =E2=80=94 which is their reason to exist. Nevertheless, for most Colombians, the armed struggle is just as far away a= s it is in the United States or western Europe, and that is a reality that = they fervently want to continue. One good measure of just how far Colombia is from its past of armed conflic= t is tourism, which has boomed during the Petro years. Domestic vacation tr= ips have skyrocketed. In 2025, they grew 8% to reach a record of 50.8 milli= on vacation trips by Colombians within the country. Foreign tourist visits have grown from 0.6 million in 2007 to 6.49 million = in 2025. This economic sector, which was almost completely moribund for dec= ades, now accounts for almost 2.8% of Colombia=E2=80=99s GDP. De la Espriella and Trump=E2=80=99s Threats ----------------------------------- All around the world, rightwing media and political parties continuously sp= otlight violent crime to gain support for more and more funds for police an= d military forces, which can then be used to defend private property and th= e political systems of capitalism. In Colombia, stoking fears of violent crime in the cities and armed conflic= t in the countryside is the bread and butter of the mainstream media, despi= te statistics showing that both have declined in the last four years. What = Colombian media outlets like RCN and Caracol produce is then recycled by th= e international media and press from CNN and The New York Times to Fox and = Al Jazeera. Petro=E2=80=99s Paz Total has successfully isolated the armed groups, drama= tically reduced their remaining popular support, and diminished the scope o= f the armed conflict to a few areas of coca production and drug transportat= ion routes well outside of almost all of the country=E2=80=99s population c= enters. Despite these facts the right wing in Colombia, the United States and elsew= here have loudly and falsely portrayed Paz Total as a failure. De la Esprie= lla has just as loudly announced that he plans a military offensive as soon= as he is in office. De la Espriella=E2=80=99s real target is not in the countryside, but rather= the vibrant and growing political left in Colombia=E2=80=99s cities: the P= acto Historico and its ally the Alianza Verde (Green Alliance.) They repres= ent the most important obstacle to the plans of U.S. and Colombian big busi= ness. Petro=E2=80=99s government banned fracking and halted exploration and drill= ing for oil and natural gas, while many strip mining and forestry projects = in sensitive environments have been successfully blocked by local activists= and indigenous communities. Abelardo de la Espriella and Jose Manuel Restrepo=E2=80=99s campaign poster= . One of De la Espriella=E2=80=99s first priorities is to follow Donald Trump= =E2=80=99s lead, immediately end the ban on fracking, and =E2=80=9Cdrill ba= by, drill.=E2=80=9D At the same time, De la Espriella has vowed to roll bac= k and reverse the gains made by the mass movements during the Petro years. These included historic increases in the minimum salary, expansion of the p= ension system to cover most of the population, major improvements in public= education, and a labor reform that has reduced the work week and restored = rights that had been taken away from workers during the Uribe administratio= n. The Pacto Historico and the Alianza Verde, the electoral expressions of the= mass movements which won those gains, are the main targets of U.S. interve= ntion into Colombia and of De la Espriella=E2=80=99s proposed militarizatio= n of Colombian society. De la Espriella has promised to =E2=80=9Cgut=E2=80=9D the left and has prop= osed to form urban militias reminiscent of the Convivir movement of the 199= 0s that served as the legal front of the paramilitary groups. He wants to t= ake an Elon Musk-style ax and a Javier Millie-style chain saw to radically = reduce the size of the Colombian state, while simultaneously increasing the= size of the police and military. He proposes to remove all restrictions that currently prevent the military = from attacking civilian populations. He has promised a witch hunt against t= he left, the extradition of President Petro and others to the United States= , and has proposed the construction of 10 mega-prisons modeled after Bukele= =E2=80=99s infamous CECOT in El Salvador. The witch hunt began in the United States rather than in Colombia when Secr= etary of State Marco Rubio personally ordered ICE to arrest a Colombian cit= izen named Beto Coral. A former candidate of the Pacto Historico, Coral had been living legally in= the United States and participating in the Colombian election as a poll wa= tcher at Colombian consulates there. He has since been deported to Colombia= . The arrest was reportedly made at the request of De la Espriella. As soon as the election results were in, and while the persecution of Beto = Coral was underway, the presumptive Vice President elect led a group of Abe= lardo de la Espriella=E2=80=99s closest collaborators to the United States.= There they met with Rubio, Senator Bernardo Moreno, and a subcommittee of = the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Despite photographs, handshakes and praise from Rubio, Moreno and others, t= hey flew home almost empty-handed. Rather than hundreds of millions of doll= ars in aid, all that Rubio and his coterie promised them was that the Unite= d States would help establish quasi-military police logistics centers in is= olated rural areas to help with the war against drug dealers. Although the Colombian right wingers=E2=80=99 dreams of a rebirth of Plan C= olombia were dashed, their visit has provided the United States with a pret= ext for any future military intervention it may decide to undertake in the = future. A Frightened New President -------------------------- Abelardo de la Espriella=E2=80=99s campaign nickname was the tiger, but des= pite his nickname and war-like rhetoric, he has consistently exhibited extr= eme fearfulness of being in Colombia, and particularly of being in public i= n Colombia. During the campaign, he also spoke behind a curtain of bullet-proof glass. = As soon as the election campaign ended, he disappeared from public view, an= d his place in the public eye was taken over by his presumptive Vice-Presid= ent elect, Jose Manuel Restrepo. Now, =E2=80=9Cthe tiger=E2=80=9D refuses t= o have his inauguration in the Colombian Congress where such events are tra= ditionally held but instead wants to be inaugurated within the safety of a = military base. The transitional handoff of government between the outgoing administration = and the incoming one is governed by law, but De la Espriella has not only b= oycotted the proceedings, he has ordered his minions to boycott them as wel= l. This led to the surreal spectacle of transition events in every ministry of= the government, televised live on national TV, which feature presentations= by the outgoing ministers and vice ministers, chairs reserved for other ou= tgoing appointees full =E2=80=94 and a row of empty seats at the table rese= rved for representative of the incoming De la Espriella government. To mask the public impression of the effects, De la Espriella has organized= a series of meetings with Governors of Departments and Mayors outside Bogo= t=C3=A1 under the name of a regional transition. Part of his attack on the = central government involves plans to move government ministries and agencie= s out of Bogot=C3=A1 and to relocate them in cities such as Medellin and Ba= rranquilla, where the local governments are run by his political allies. Part of De la Espriella=E2=80=99s fear is undoubtedly related to his record= of routinely betraying his friends and allies. As a lawyer representing Co= lombian drug dealers, he gained a reputation for betraying them to the DEA. Leading up to the election campaign, he infuriated his ally former Presiden= t Alvaro Uribe by opening the door to Ivan Cepeda gaining evidence that hel= ped prosecute Uribe and resulted in the conviction of Uribe=E2=80=99s broth= er who is now facing a very long prison term. His political position is precarious. His own political party has only four= seats in the Senate, and none in the chamber of deputies. His supporters h= ave put together a rag-tag coalition of rightwing parties divided by person= al hatreds and jealousies, but united by fear of the rising tide of the Pac= to Historico. The largest of the rightwing parties, Uribe=E2=80=99s Centro-Democratico, h= as already defected on the first important vote in the new Senate, election= of its presiding officer. De la Espriella=E2=80=99s legislative coalition nominated a member of the P= artido de la U who is well known for two things: extreme corruption and enm= ity towards Alvaro Uribe. The Centro Democratico balked, nominating one of = its own who was surprisingly elected. The entire bloc of the Pacto Historico along with 13 others, voted for Urib= e=E2=80=99s candidate. Although many people on the left were outraged, the = result is likely to be that the Senate is going to be even more chaotic and= unmanageable than it already appeared to be. Los que Nunca y Los que Siempre (Those who have never, and those who have a= lways) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ------ In keeping with his reputation for betraying his friends and allies, De la = Espriella has already betrayed the people who voted for him. He campaigned = as a political outsider, using as his templates the campaigns of Donald Tru= mp in the USA, Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, Javier Milei in Argentina, and = Rodolfo Hernandez here in Colombia (the candidate of the Colombian right wh= o lost the 2022 presidential election). His campaign was built on lies. Knowing that the conservative petty bourgeo= isie of the country had turned their backs on the traditional rightwing lea= dership, he promised to make no deals with the traditional political partie= s and form a government of =E2=80=9Clos que nunca=E2=80=9D (=E2=80=98Those = who never=E2=80=99 which means something like =E2=80=9Cthe have nots=E2=80= =9D in English.) The slogan was a promise to rid the country of the corrupt rightwing politi= cians while remaining true to conservative values. His choice of a vice president should have told his voters that this was a = lie. The new Vice President, Jose Manuel Restrepo, is a Colombian blue bloo= d who is the descendant of three presidents and was Minister of Finance in = the scandal-ridden government of Ivan Duque. Restrepo appears to be the de facto leader of the new government. Since the= election, de la Espriella has disappeared from public view while Restrepo = is constantly in the news and is leading the transition team of the new gov= ernment. If the choice of Restrepo did not alert de la Espriella=E2=80=99s voter bas= e to his bait and switch game, his cabinet appointments have. The Cabinet of Los que Siempre (Those who have always) *Party* *Name* *Ministry* *Notes* Cambio Radical* Elsa Noguera Minister of = Transportation Key member of the Char family machine, former Mayor, Governo= r and cabinet minister. Husband is a convicted drug dealer. Cambio Radical*= Rodrigo Lara Restrepo Minister of the Interior Key member of the Char fami= ly machine. Long serving member of Congress and the Senate and a former Min= ister. His father was a Minister of Justice who was assassinated at the ord= ers of Pablo Escobar. Liberal party* Mauricio G=C3=B3mez Minister of Foreig= n Commerce Key member of the Char family machine. Long serving Liberal part= y member of the Congress and Senate. Conservative Party, Partido de la U* M= iguel G=C3=B3mez Mart=C3=ADnez Minister of Finance Key member of the Pastra= na family machine. Long-serving member of Congress and the Senate and minis= ter in the governments of Andres Pastran and Alvaro Uribe. Grandson of Laur= eano Gomez, the most extreme rightwing President in the history of Colombia= . Liberal Party* Iv=C3=A1n Cancino Gonz=C3=A1lez Minister of Justice Alvaro= Uribe=E2=80=99s long-term personal lawyer who also represented Colombian f= inancial oligarchs of the Gilinski family and various corrupt politicians i= n the Odebrecht scandal. Partido de la U Alexandra Falla Zerrate Minister o= f Technology, Information and Communications Vice Minister of Digital Trans= formation in the government of Ivan Duque. Independent Mar=C3=ADa Nohem=C3= =AD Arboleda Mines and Energy General Manager of XM which operates the nati= onal electrical grid. Liberal Party, Party of the Regions* Viviane Morales = Minister of Education Former Chief Independent Prosecutor, Evangelical lead= er who is an opponent of public education and favors government subsidies o= f private schools. Married to Carlos Alonso Lucio L=C3=B3pez, an M-19 guerr= illa who became a paramilitary leader. Convicted by the Supreme Court of fr= aud and connections to drug dealers. Currently an evangelical pastor. Parti= do Colombia Justa Libres and the National Salvation Movement Jaime Andres B= eltran Minister of Housing Evangelical pastor, former Mayor of Bucaramanga = removed from office for violating election laws, convicted of theft of city= property. Centro Democratico, National Salvation Movement Retired General = Jorge Eduardo Mora L=C3=B3pez Minister of Defense Career military officer c= losely connected to DEA. Removed by Petro from chain of command after he wa= s investigated, but not convicted, for corruption. Senatorial candidate for= the extreme rightwing National Salvation Party. Brother of a commanding ge= neral connected to the paramilitaries. Independent Fabio Alberto Arjona Hin= capi=C3=A9 Minister of the Environment A supposed environmentalist who supp= orts fracking as well as strip mining of sensitive environments in the Ande= s. Defensores de la Patria Omar Bula Escobar Minister of Foreign Relations = Lifelong admirer of Laureano Gomez who advocates conspiracy theories about = the 2020 US elections, global warming, and the Great Replacement. Career in= foreign relations and academia. Centro Democratico Indalecio Dangond Baque= ro Minister of Agriculture Family is a major producer of plan oil. Dangond = spent his career in the Ministries of Agriculture and Commerce and in publi= c owned banks and credit institutions. Creemos Colombia Juliana Guti=C3=A9r= rez Minister of Sports Sister of the Mayor of Medellin. Centro Democratico,= Creemos Colombia Paola Holgu=C3=ADn Moreno Minister of Culture and Art For= mer Senator and Advisor to Alvaro Uribe. Her career was in military issues = rather than culture and art. *These cabinet members were longstanding leaders of traditional parties but= switched party affiliations to join one of the two tiny extremist parties = controlled by De la Espriella, the National Salvation Movement and Defender= s of the Homeland. Challenges and Opportunities for the Left ----------------------------------------- The struggle against the new government began almost as soon as the electio= n results were announced and will continue on August 7, the day that Abelar= do de la Espriella is scheduled to take office and the second of Colombia= =E2=80=99s two independence days. It will be a day of protests announced by the Pacto Historico, starting wit= h civil disobedience in the city of Barranquilla led by Senator Ivan Cepeda= . De la Espriella has threatened a military offensive that is likely to be th= e way he brings U.S. military into Colombia. He also says he will eliminate= corruption from the government by firing and prosecuting every corrupt gov= ernment official during the same period of time. This will be the cover for= his attack on government social services and against unionized government = employees. The threats are likely to be difficult to carry out because the new governm= ent will start in a very weak position. =E2=80=A2 It has no clear legislative majority, and its base of rightwing p= arties is fragmented and divided. There are currently 28 parties represente= d in either the Senate or Chamber or both. The largest is the Pacto Histori= co which with its allies, the Green Alliance and representatives of smaller= parties, is likely to be able to block Se la Espriella=E2=80=99s legislati= ve initiatives as shown by the vote on the new President of the Senate. =E2=80=A2 De la Espriella lacks full control of any of the institutions of = the state including the military and judiciary. =E2=80=A2 There is still a potential that the Constitutional Court will nul= lify his election. =E2=80=A2 There is a growing sense of betrayal by De la Espriella among tho= se who voted for him. =E2=80=A2 De la Espriella is unlikely to receive any significant help from = his mentors and handlers in the United States. The first 100 days will be the first test of the left under the new governm= ent. Defending itself against repression, legal and illegal, up to and incl= uding the possible arrest and deportation of President Petro, will be the f= irst, but not the only priority. The defensive struggle will require a comb= ination of action by the Pacto and its allies in the Senate and the Chamber= of Representative with the ongoing fight in the judicial system, but the m= ost important ingredients will be the mobilization on the streets in demons= trations and strike action. Pacto Historico=E2=80=99s campaign poster. The Pacto Historico and the rest of the left are in a strong position to fi= ght back if they can mobilize those who voted for the Pacto. In the legisla= tive elections held on March 21, the candidates of the Pacto Historico rece= ived 4,471,238 votes (21.4%) out of the total of 20,900,614 total cast. In the first round of presidential voting, the Pacto=E2=80=99s candidate Iv= an Cepeda received 9,688,361 votes (31.2%) out of a total of 23,978,304, an= d in the second round, Cepeda, received 12,708,312 out of a total of 26,344= ,960 votes cast. The social base of the Pacto Historico is the urban working class, especial= ly the organized labor movement. While the combined membership of the three= union federations, the CUT, CGT and CTC, amounts to only about 850,000 wor= kers out of a working-age population of about 35,000,000, the unions have a= huge following beyond their membership because the unions negotiate with t= he government every year to determine the next year=E2=80=99s annual minimu= m salary. Both within and beyond the working class, the Pacto has also grown through = the rise of the self-conscious mass movements of Afro- Colombianos, the Ind= igenous Minga, and the feminist, LGBTQ+ and environmentalist movements. A good approximation of the ascendant growth curve of the left in Colombia = is found in its presidential election results. Over the course of the last = seven presidential elections from 2002 to 2026, the left=E2=80=99s candidat= es progressively increased their vote totals from 680,000 votes (6.6%) to 1= 2,708,712 votes (48.70%). Beyond surviving threatened repression and defending the gains made during = the Petro years, the Pacto faces the challenge of continuing to grow. Its g= reatest weaknesses lie in its failure to build a membership party, and its = failure to develop broad new layers of leaders. The Pacto is now addressing both of these issues with a membership drive an= d a drive to recruit candidates to run for local offices from city council = seats to the offices of mayors and governors. To get some idea of the size of this challenge, you only have to look at th= e fact that currently 142 members of the Pacto serve as city council member= s out of a total of 12,072 city council members in the country. Their allie= s, the Greens, have only 10 city council members. Meanwhile the parties of the right all have hundreds or thousands of counci= l members: the Centro Democratic has 1876; Cambio Radical has 1243; the Par= tido de la U has 1246; the Liberals have 1834=C2=B8the Conservatives have 1= 710. Colombia=E2=80=99s left has enormous experience fighting under adverse cond= itions of violent repression, and it has not only survived but grown to bec= ome the most significant political force in this country. Now, the next yea= r will be a serious test of its resilience. -=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#42656): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/42656 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120456431/6024700 -=3D-=3D- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=3D-=3D- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/10173629/6024700/1441833971= /xyzzy [[email protected]] -=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D- --BbXT8ctCnIggYt0pLCYL Content-Type: text/html; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <div><a href=3D"https://againstthecurrent.org/colombia-and-latin-america-a-= new-stage-of-the-struggle/" target=3D"_blank" rel=3D"noopener">https://agai= nstthecurrent.org/colombia-and-latin-america-a-new-stage-of-the-struggle/</= a></div> <div> </div> <div><header class=3D"entry-header alignwide" style=3D"box-sizing: border-b= ox; max-width: 1240px; margin: 0px auto; clear: both; border-bottom: 0px; p= adding-bottom: 0px; color: #000000; font-family: 'PT Serif', 'Hoefler Text'= , 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-varia= nt-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-s= pacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transf= orm: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; wh= ite-space: normal; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-thickness: in= itial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> <h1 class=3D"entry-title" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 40px;= margin: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; clear: bot= h; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; = letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: none; color: #00000= 0; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Colombia and Latin America: A New Stage of t= he Struggle</h1> </header> <div class=3D"entry-content" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: no= ne; margin: 0px auto; font-family: 'PT Serif', 'Hoefler Text', 'Times New R= oman', serif; color: #000000; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-var= iant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter= -spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-tran= sform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; = white-space: normal; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-thickness: = initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> <div class=3D"atc_article atc_content" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max= -width: 1000px; margin: 0px auto 16px;"> <div class=3D"atc_main" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; d= isplay: inline; float: left; width: 650px;"> <h2 class=3D"authors" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin= : 1rem 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; clear: both; font-family: = 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-size: 30px;= letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: none;"><a style=3D= "box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-thi= ckness: 1px; cursor: pointer; color: #cd2653; text-underline-offset: 3px; t= ext-decoration-skip-ink: all; max-width: none;" href=3D"https://againstthec= urrent.org/ted-zuur">Ted Zuur</a></h2> <div class=3D"float-right width-half" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-= width: none; display: inline; float: right; margin-left: 1rem; width: 325px= ;"> <div style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none;"><img class=3D"width= -whole" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; border: 1px solid black; height: a= uto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; display: inline; width: 325px= ;" src=3D"https://againstthecurrent.org/files/Colombian_Presidential_Candid= ate_Abelardo_de_la_Espriella_cropped.jpg" width=3D"1183" height=3D"1578" />= </div> <div class=3D"caption" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; fo= nt-size: smaller; font-style: italic; line-height: normal; margin: 2px 1rem= 1rem;">The Colombian National Election Council declared Abelardo de la Esp= riella the winner in the presidential run off June 21. When on the campaign= trail he saluted to the slogan “Steadfast for the homeland,” M= ay 25, 2026. CC0 1.0</div> </div> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">SPRAWLING OVER THE southern hills of Bogotá, Ci= udad Bolivar is a vast proletarian neighborhood of 700,000 people. On July = 20, the first of Colombia’s two Independence days, it was the center = of a national celebration of the country’s independence, replete with= military ceremony — combined with the start of a mass campaign of re= sistance against the unprecedented attack against Colombian sovereignty rep= resented by U.S. interference in the presidential election that appears to = have placed an extreme rightwing candidate, Abelardo de la Espriella, in th= e office of the presidency of this country.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">More than 100,000 people filled the parking lot of the= Gran Plaza El Ensueño shopping mall and all the surrounding streets= for blocks, to hear the farewell speech of outgoing President Gustavo Petr= o, the first ever leftwing president of this country and a central leader o= f the party known as the<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-= box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Pacto Historico</em><span> = </span>(Historic Pact).</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Simultaneously, demonstrations were held in every city= of the country and in many small towns.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Colombia remains a key epicenter of the class struggle= in Latin America and of the struggle between the United States and Latin A= merica, but following this year’s elections, the conditions of that s= truggle have radically changed.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Legislative elections on March 8 made the<span> <= /span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: n= one;">Pacto Historico,</em><span> </span>the rising leftwing party her= e, the biggest party in Colombia in almost every respect. However, in the f= irst round of the presidential election on May 31, the extreme rightwing da= rk horse, Abelardo de la Espriella, came in first with 10,361,499 votes to = force a runoff with the<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-b= ox; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Pacto Historico</em>’s Sena= tor Ivan Cepeda, who came in second with 9,688,361 votes.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The official candidate of the rightwing<span> </s= pan><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: non= e;">Centro Democratico,</em><span> </span>the party of former rightwin= g authoritarian President Alvaro Uribe, came in a distant third with only 1= ,639,685 votes.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Then in the June 21 runoff, the National Election Coun= cil’s official vote count gave Abelardo de la Espriella 12,959,542 vo= tes, less than 1% more than the 12,708,712 votes of Senator Ivan Cepeda. (T= here were 13 candidates on the ballot.) The voter turnout of 63.6% was a re= cord for this country.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">De la Espriella is a lawyer who has specialized in def= ending corrupt politicians and businessmen, paramilitary leaders and drug d= ealers. For most of the last 20 years he has lived in Florida and Tuscany; = he is a citizen of the United States and Italy as well as of Colombia.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">His made-in-Miami candidacy was advised by MAGA senato= r from Ohio Bernardo Moreno (a dual U.S./Colombian citizen like De la Espri= ella) and endorsed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Don= ald J. Trump.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">When the election results were announced, Trump tweete= d, “He Won, BIG!”</p> <h3 style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webki= t-font-smoothing: antialiased; clear: both; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', = Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-size: 25px; letter-spacing: n= ormal; line-height: normal; max-width: none;">Election Fraud</h3> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The final official results were announced without addr= essing the more than 57,000 challenges to irregularities such as vote buyin= g and electronic fraud that had already been filed.</p> <div class=3D"float-left width-half" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-w= idth: none; display: inline; float: left; margin-right: 1.25rem; width: 325= px;"> <div style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none;"><img class=3D"width= -whole" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; border: 1px solid black; height: a= uto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; display: inline; width: 325px= ;" src=3D"https://againstthecurrent.org/files/July-20-Ciudad-de-Bolivar.png= " /></div> <div class=3D"caption" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; fo= nt-size: smaller; font-style: italic; line-height: normal; margin: 2px 1rem= 1rem;">More than 100,000 people came out to hear the farewell speech of ou= tgoing President Gustavo Petro on July 20.</div> </div> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">President Gustavo Petro, elected as the candidate of t= he<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: itali= c; max-width: none;">Pacto Historico</em><span> </span>in 2022 and the= country’s first ever leftwing president, announced that he did not r= ecognize the election as valid.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Petro asserted that it had been marked by fraud at the= highest level, and subsequently he and others have sued the National Elect= oral Council, the Registrar of Voters, and the individuals whom they declar= ed victorious. Altogether more than 30 lawsuits have been filed.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The central lawsuit targets the actions of the Registr= ar and the private contractor Thoms Greg and Company, which control the ele= ction process from the printing of forms to the software used to compile, c= ount, and record votes. The Registrar, and the majority of the National Ele= ctoral Council, are members of political parties opposed to the<span> = </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: = none;">Pacto Historico.</em></p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">A seemingly mundane change made after the 2022 electio= n of Petro, enlarging the E-14 form used at polling stations to record vote= s from one to two pages, is at the heart of the lawsuit. The change puts th= e signatures of witnesses and poll workers on a separate page from the reco= rd of votes, which creates the possible of falsifying the vote records scan= ned into the system’s computers.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">That change, combined with the massive last-minute add= ition of hundreds of thousands of voters to the rolls, were the most import= ant elements of a massive fraud according to the suit. The suit also allege= s that the new form has also made it impossible for citizens and independen= t observers to verify any election results.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The lawsuit asks the Council of State, one of the coun= try’s three Supreme Courts, to nullify the election results, conduct = a recount or new election, and order changes to prevent future election fra= ud.</p> <h3 style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webki= t-font-smoothing: antialiased; clear: both; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', = Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-size: 25px; letter-spacing: n= ormal; line-height: normal; max-width: none;">An Attack on National Soverei= gnty</h3> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">At the same time, Ivan Cepeda announced that the<span>= </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-w= idth: none;">Pacto Historico</em><span> </span>did not recognize the l= egitimacy of the election of De la Espriella, on the grounds that De la Esp= riella is a naturalized citizen of the United States who swore an oath to r= enounce all loyalties to countries other than the United States in order to= become a U.S. citizen, thereby making him ineligible to serve as President= of Colombia and Commander in Chief of its military forces.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Cepeda announced the beginning of a campaign of peacef= ul civil disobedience against the election fraud, against the attack on Col= ombia’s national sovereignty, in defense of the democratic and human = rights of Colombians and the people of Latin America, and in defense of the= significant gains made by the working class and oppressed of Colombia duri= ng Petro’s government.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Despite the official declaration that Abelardo de la E= spriella won the presidential election, Colombia is far from being under th= e control of the United States and Trump’s Viceroy, Secretary of Stat= e Rubio.</p> <h3 style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webki= t-font-smoothing: antialiased; clear: both; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', = Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-size: 25px; letter-spacing: n= ormal; line-height: normal; max-width: none;">No Return to Guerrilla Warfar= e</h3> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-= box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Pacto Historico</em><span> = </span>has emphatically rejected the legitimacy of De la Espriella’s = election and has begun a campaign of resistance based on mass protests, pea= ceful civil disobedience, and legal challenges in court. Part of this campa= ign is a battle to expand the Pacto’s organization through a membersh= ip drive and by preparing to run the largest possible number of candidates = in next year’s local elections.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Despite the heightened political and social tension wi= thin the country, and between Colombia and the United States,<span> </= span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: no= ne;">what is not in the cards is a return of the left to guerrilla warfare = or the preparation of an insurrection.</em></p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Colombia’s long history of armed conflict has le= ft the country with a powerful desire for peace, which was the basis of Pet= ro’s policy called<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-= box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Paz Total</em><span> </span= >or Total Peace.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The history of the long series of armed conflicts here= began with civil wars between factions of the ruling class organized into = the traditional Liberal and Conservative Parties, devolving into local wars= for land between poor peasants and large landowners. The peasant forces be= came part of the organized left, and the landlords’ private armies be= came rightwing death squads and paramilitaries.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Beginning in the 1970s, the rise of illegal drug produ= ction created an intersection between the old conflict and a new conflict f= or control of drug production and drug shipment routes. Profits from cocain= e and other drugs were used to finance an arms race among armed groups whic= h no side could win.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">In 1990, M-19 — one of the principal guerrilla g= roups — made a peace agreement and came in from the cold to participa= te in that year’s elections. Shortly after the signing, Carlos Pizarr= o, the presidential candidate of M-19 and father of current<span> </sp= an><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: none= ;">Pacto Historico</em><span> </span>Senator Maria José Pizarro= , was assassinated. Nevertheless, that peace agreement led to the constitue= nt assembly which produced the current Colombian Constitution.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">It did not lead to peace, however, as the government a= nd the paramilitaries systematically assassinated over 6000 leftwing, socia= l and union leaders, especially members and supporters of the<span> </= span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: no= ne;">Unión Patriótica,</em><span> </span>a political par= ty that included supporters of the Communist Party as well as the FARC, the= country’s largest guerrilla group.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">One of those assassinated was a UP leader Manuel Ceped= a, the father of the current<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: bor= der-box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Pacto Historico</em><span>&n= bsp;</span>leader Ivan Cepeda. The terror campaign drove the FARC back into= the armed struggle and into reliance on the profits of the illegal drug tr= ade to arm itself.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Between 1999 and 2002, the government of President And= res Pastrana negotiated with the FARC while he worked with the United State= s to reorganize, retrain and rearm the Colombian military for an offensive = against the FARC. The joint effort became famous as Bill Clinton’s Pl= an Colombia.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The military offensive was carried out under the leade= rship of the next President, Alvaro Uribe, and his Defense Minister Juan Ma= nuel Santos. Santos succeeded Uribe as president, and the offensive finally= culminated, after the deaths of many FARC leaders and fighters, with a pea= ce agreement in 2016.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts and t= he FARC received various guarantees including seats in the Congress. As a r= esult of the agreement, Colombia established its current system of transiti= onal justice.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Since then, low-level armed conflict has continued wit= h the ELN, with former FARC groups which did not support the peace agreemen= t, and with armed drug gangs descended from the rightwing paramilitary grou= ps, most notably the<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;= font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Clan del Golfo</em><span> </spa= n>some of whose leaders have been clients of Aberlardo de la Espriella&rsqu= o;s law firm.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">President Petro’s<span> </span><em style=3D= "box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Paz Total</e= m><span> </span>offered peace negotiations with all these groups regar= dless of whether they have any kind of political orientation or are simply = criminal gangs. Despite some agreements which led to demobilizations, and s= ome continuing negotiations, most of these groups continue in the illegal d= rug business — which is their reason to exist.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Nevertheless, for most Colombians, the armed struggle = is just as far away as it is in the United States or western Europe, and th= at is a reality that they fervently want to continue.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">One good measure of just how far Colombia is from its = past of armed conflict is tourism, which has boomed during the Petro years.= Domestic vacation trips have skyrocketed. In 2025, they grew 8% to reach a= record of 50.8 million vacation trips by Colombians within the country.</p= > <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Foreign tourist visits have grown from 0.6 million in = 2007 to 6.49 million in 2025. This economic sector, which was almost comple= tely moribund for decades, now accounts for almost 2.8% of Colombia’s= GDP.</p> <h3 style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webki= t-font-smoothing: antialiased; clear: both; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', = Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-size: 25px; letter-spacing: n= ormal; line-height: normal; max-width: none;">De la Espriella and Trump&rsq= uo;s Threats</h3> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">All around the world, rightwing media and political pa= rties continuously spotlight violent crime to gain support for more and mor= e funds for police and military forces, which can then be used to defend pr= ivate property and the political systems of capitalism.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">In Colombia, stoking fears of violent crime in the cit= ies and armed conflict in the countryside is the bread and butter of the ma= instream media, despite statistics showing that both have declined in the l= ast four years. What Colombian media outlets like RCN and Caracol produce i= s then recycled by the international media and press from CNN and<span>&nbs= p;</span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width= : none;">The New York Times</em><span> </span>to Fox and Al Jazeera.</= p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Petro’s<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizin= g: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Paz Total</em><span>&n= bsp;</span>has successfully isolated the armed groups, dramatically reduced= their remaining popular support, and diminished the scope of the armed con= flict to a few areas of coca production and drug transportation routes well= outside of almost all of the country’s population centers.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Despite these facts the right wing in Colombia, the Un= ited States and elsewhere have loudly and falsely portrayed<span> </sp= an><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: none= ;">Paz Total</em><span> </span>as a failure. De la Espriella has just = as loudly announced that he plans a military offensive as soon as he is in = office.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">De la Espriella’s real target is not in the coun= tryside, but rather the vibrant and growing political left in Colombia&rsqu= o;s cities: the<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font= -style: italic; max-width: none;">Pacto Historico</em><span> </span>an= d its ally the<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-= style: italic; max-width: none;">Alianza Verde</em><span> </span>(Gree= n Alliance.) They represent the most important obstacle to the plans of U.S= . and Colombian big business.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Petro’s government banned fracking and halted ex= ploration and drilling for oil and natural gas, while many strip mining and= forestry projects in sensitive environments have been successfully blocked= by local activists and indigenous communities.</p> <div class=3D"float-right width-66" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-wi= dth: none; display: inline; float: right; margin-left: 1rem;"> <div style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none;"><img class=3D"width= -whole" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; border: 1px solid black; height: a= uto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; display: inline; width: 634px= ;" src=3D"https://againstthecurrent.org/files/Abelardo-campaign-poster.jpg"= width=3D"1183" height=3D"394" /></div> <div class=3D"caption" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; fo= nt-size: smaller; font-style: italic; line-height: normal; margin: 2px 1rem= 1rem;">Abelardo de la Espriella and Jose Manuel Restrepo’s campaign = poster.</div> </div> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">One of De la Espriella’s first priorities is to = follow Donald Trump’s lead, immediately end the ban on fracking, and = “drill baby, drill.” At the same time, De la Espriella has vowe= d to roll back and reverse the gains made by the mass movements during the = Petro years.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">These included historic increases in the minimum salar= y, expansion of the pension system to cover most of the population, major i= mprovements in public education, and a labor reform that has reduced the wo= rk week and restored rights that had been taken away from workers during th= e Uribe administration.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-= box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Pacto Historico</em><span> = </span>and the<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-= style: italic; max-width: none;">Alianza Verde,</em><span> </span>the = electoral expressions of the mass movements which won those gains, are the = main targets of U.S. intervention into Colombia and of De la Espriella&rsqu= o;s proposed militarization of Colombian society.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">De la Espriella has promised to “gut” the = left and has proposed to form urban militias reminiscent of the Convivir mo= vement of the 1990s that served as the legal front of the paramilitary grou= ps. He wants to take an Elon Musk-style ax and a Javier Millie-style chain = saw to radically reduce the size of the Colombian state, while simultaneous= ly increasing the size of the police and military.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">He proposes to remove all restrictions that currently = prevent the military from attacking civilian populations. He has promised a= witch hunt against the left, the extradition of President Petro and others= to the United States, and has proposed the construction of 10 mega-prisons= modeled after Bukele’s infamous CECOT in El Salvador.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The witch hunt began in the United States rather than = in Colombia when Secretary of State Marco Rubio personally ordered ICE to a= rrest a Colombian citizen named Beto Coral.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">A former candidate of the<span> </span><em style= =3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Pacto His= torico,</em><span> </span>Coral had been living legally in the United = States and participating in the Colombian election as a poll watcher at Col= ombian consulates there. He has since been deported to Colombia. The arrest= was reportedly made at the request of De la Espriella.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">As soon as the election results were in, and while the= persecution of Beto Coral was underway, the presumptive Vice President ele= ct led a group of Abelardo de la Espriella’s closest collaborators to= the United States. There they met with Rubio, Senator Bernardo Moreno, and= a subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Despite photographs, handshakes and praise from Rubio,= Moreno and others, they flew home almost empty-handed. Rather than hundred= s of millions of dollars in aid, all that Rubio and his coterie promised th= em was that the United States would help establish quasi-military police lo= gistics centers in isolated rural areas to help with the war against drug d= ealers.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Although the Colombian right wingers’ dreams of = a rebirth of Plan Colombia were dashed, their visit has provided the United= States with a pretext for any future military intervention it may decide t= o undertake in the future.</p> <h3 style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webki= t-font-smoothing: antialiased; clear: both; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', = Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-size: 25px; letter-spacing: n= ormal; line-height: normal; max-width: none;">A Frightened New President</h= 3> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Abelardo de la Espriella’s campaign nickname was= the tiger, but despite his nickname and war-like rhetoric, he has consiste= ntly exhibited extreme fearfulness of being in Colombia, and particularly o= f being in public in Colombia.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">During the campaign, he also spoke behind a curtain of= bullet-proof glass. As soon as the election campaign ended, he disappeared= from public view, and his place in the public eye was taken over by his pr= esumptive Vice-President elect, Jose Manuel Restrepo. Now, “the tiger= ” refuses to have his inauguration in the Colombian Congress where su= ch events are traditionally held but instead wants to be inaugurated within= the safety of a military base.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The transitional handoff of government between the out= going administration and the incoming one is governed by law, but De la Esp= riella has not only boycotted the proceedings, he has ordered his minions t= o boycott them as well.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">This led to the surreal spectacle of transition events= in every ministry of the government, televised live on national TV, which = feature presentations by the outgoing ministers and vice ministers, chairs = reserved for other outgoing appointees full — and a row of empty seat= s at the table reserved for representative of the incoming De la Espriella = government.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">To mask the public impression of the effects, De la Es= priella has organized a series of meetings with Governors of Departments an= d Mayors outside Bogotá under the name of a regional transition. Par= t of his attack on the central government involves plans to move government= ministries and agencies out of Bogotá and to relocate them in citie= s such as Medellin and Barranquilla, where the local governments are run by= his political allies.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Part of De la Espriella’s fear is undoubtedly re= lated to his record of routinely betraying his friends and allies. As a law= yer representing Colombian drug dealers, he gained a reputation for betrayi= ng them to the DEA.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Leading up to the election campaign, he infuriated his= ally former President Alvaro Uribe by opening the door to Ivan Cepeda gain= ing evidence that helped prosecute Uribe and resulted in the conviction of = Uribe’s brother who is now facing a very long prison term.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">His political position is precarious. His own politica= l party has only four seats in the Senate, and none in the chamber of deput= ies. His supporters have put together a rag-tag coalition of rightwing part= ies divided by personal hatreds and jealousies, but united by fear of the r= ising tide of the Pacto Historico.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The largest of the rightwing parties, Uribe’s<sp= an> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; ma= x-width: none;">Centro-Democratico,</em><span> </span>has already defe= cted on the first important vote in the new Senate, election of its presidi= ng officer.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">De la Espriella’s legislative coalition nominate= d a member of the<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; fo= nt-style: italic; max-width: none;">Partido de la U</em><span> </span>= who is well known for two things: extreme corruption and enmity towards Alv= aro Uribe. The<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-= style: italic; max-width: none;">Centro Democratico</em><span> </span>= balked, nominating one of its own who was surprisingly elected.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The entire bloc of the<span> </span><em style=3D"= box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Pacto Histori= co</em><span> </span>along with 13 others, voted for Uribe’s can= didate. Although many people on the left were outraged, the result is likel= y to be that the Senate is going to be even more chaotic and unmanageable t= han it already appeared to be.</p> <h3 style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webki= t-font-smoothing: antialiased; clear: both; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', = Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-size: 25px; letter-spacing: n= ormal; line-height: normal; max-width: none;"><em style=3D"box-sizing: bord= er-box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Los que Nunca y Los que Siemp= re</em><span> </span>(Those who have never, and those who have always)= </h3> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">In keeping with his reputation for betraying his frien= ds and allies, De la Espriella has already betrayed the people who voted fo= r him. He campaigned as a political outsider, using as his templates the ca= mpaigns of Donald Trump in the USA, Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, Javier Mil= ei in Argentina, and Rodolfo Hernandez here in Colombia (the candidate of t= he Colombian right who lost the 2022 presidential election).</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">His campaign was built on lies. Knowing that the conse= rvative petty bourgeoisie of the country had turned their backs on the trad= itional rightwing leadership, he promised to make no deals with the traditi= onal political parties and form a government of<span> </span><em style= =3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">“lo= s que nunca”</em><span> </span>(‘Those who never’ wh= ich means something like “the have nots” in English.)</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The slogan was a promise to rid the country of the cor= rupt rightwing politicians while remaining true to conservative values.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">His choice of a vice president should have told his vo= ters that this was a lie. The new Vice President, Jose Manuel Restrepo, is = a Colombian blue blood who is the descendant of three presidents and was Mi= nister of Finance in the scandal-ridden government of Ivan Duque.<br style= =3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none;" />Restrepo appears to be the<= span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; = max-width: none;">de facto</em><span> </span>leader of the new governm= ent. Since the election, de la Espriella has disappeared from public view w= hile Restrepo is constantly in the news and is leading the transition team = of the new government.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">If the choice of Restrepo did not alert de la Espriell= a’s voter base to his bait and switch game, his cabinet appointments = have.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;"> </p> <h4 class=3D"align-center" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; m= argin: 1rem 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; clear: both; font-fam= ily: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-size: = 20px; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: none; text-al= ign: center;">The Cabinet of<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: bor= der-box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Los que Siempre</em><span>&n= bsp;</span>(Those who have always)</h4> <table class=3D"border col-left-left row-top width-whole" style=3D"box-sizi= ng: border-box; width: 650px; min-width: 240px; border-collapse: collapse; = max-width: none; border: 1px solid black; margin: 1rem 0px; empty-cells: sh= ow;"> <tbody style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none;"> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= > <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;"><strong style=3D"box-sizing: border-= box; font-weight: bold; max-width: none;">Party</strong></td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;"><strong style=3D"box-sizing: border-= box; font-weight: bold; max-width: none;">Name</strong></td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;"><strong style=3D"box-sizing: border-= box; font-weight: bold; max-width: none;">Ministry</strong></td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;"><strong style=3D"box-sizing: border-= box; font-weight: bold; max-width: none;">Notes</strong></td> </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= ></tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= > <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Cambio Radical*</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Elsa Noguera</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Minister of Transportation</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Key member of the Char family machin= e, former Mayor, Governor and cabinet minister. Husband is a convicted drug= dealer.</td> </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= ></tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= > <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Cambio Radical*</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Rodrigo Lara Restrepo</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Minister of the Interior</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Key member of the Char family machin= e. Long serving member of Congress and the Senate and a former Minister. Hi= s father was a Minister of Justice who was assassinated at the orders of Pa= blo Escobar.</td> </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= ></tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= > <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Liberal party*</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Mauricio Gómez</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Minister of Foreign Commerce</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Key member of the Char family machin= e. Long serving Liberal party member of the Congress and Senate.</td> </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= ></tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= > <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Conservative Party, Partido de la U*= </td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Miguel Gómez Martínez<= /td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Minister of Finance</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Key member of the Pastrana family ma= chine. Long-serving member of Congress and the Senate and minister in the g= overnments of Andres Pastran and Alvaro Uribe. Grandson of Laureano Gomez, = the most extreme rightwing President in the history of Colombia.</td> </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= ></tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= > <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Liberal Party*</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Iván Cancino González<= /td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Minister of Justice</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Alvaro Uribe’s long-term perso= nal lawyer who also represented Colombian financial oligarchs of the Gilins= ki family and various corrupt politicians in the Odebrecht scandal.</td> </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= ></tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= > <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Partido de la U Alexandra</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Falla Zerrate</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Minister of Technology, Information = and Communications</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Vice Minister of Digital Transformat= ion in the government of Ivan Duque.</td> </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= ></tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= > <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Independent</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">María Nohemí Arboleda<= /td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Mines and Energy</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">General Manager of XM which operates= the national electrical grid.</td> </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= ></tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= > <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Liberal Party, Party of the Regions*= </td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Viviane Morales</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Minister of Education</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Former Chief Independent Prosecutor,= Evangelical leader who is an opponent of public education and favors gover= nment subsidies of private schools. Married to Carlos Alonso Lucio Ló= ;pez, an M-19 guerrilla who became a paramilitary leader. Convicted by the = Supreme Court of fraud and connections to drug dealers. Currently an evange= lical pastor.</td> </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= ></tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= > <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Partido Colombia Justa Libres and th= e National Salvation Movement</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Jaime Andres Beltran</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Minister of Housing</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Evangelical pastor, former Mayor of = Bucaramanga removed from office for violating election laws, convicted of t= heft of city property.</td> </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= ></tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= > <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Centro Democratico, National Salvati= on Movement</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Retired General Jorge Eduardo Mora L= ópez</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Minister of Defense</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Career military officer closely conn= ected to DEA. Removed by Petro from chain of command after he was investiga= ted, but not convicted, for corruption. Senatorial candidate for the extrem= e rightwing National Salvation Party. Brother of a commanding general conne= cted to the paramilitaries.</td> </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= ></tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= > <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Independent</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Fabio Alberto Arjona Hincapié= </td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Minister of the Environment</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">A supposed environmentalist who supp= orts fracking as well as strip mining of sensitive environments in the Ande= s.</td> </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= ></tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= > <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Defensores de la Patria</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Omar Bula Escobar</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Minister of Foreign Relations</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Lifelong admirer of Laureano Gomez w= ho advocates conspiracy theories about the 2020 US elections, global warmin= g, and the Great Replacement. Career in foreign relations and academia.</td= > </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= ></tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= > <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Centro Democratico</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Indalecio Dangond Baquero</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Minister of Agriculture</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Family is a major producer of plan o= il. Dangond spent his career in the Ministries of Agriculture and Commerce = and in public owned banks and credit institutions.</td> </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= ></tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= > <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Creemos Colombia</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Juliana Gutiérrez</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Minister of Sports</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Sister of the Mayor of Medellin.</td= > </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= ></tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= > <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Centro Democratico, Creemos Colombia= </td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Paola Holguín Moreno</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Minister of Culture and Art</td> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; padding: 8px; border:= 1px solid gray; line-height: normal;">Former Senator and Advisor to Alvaro= Uribe. Her career was in military issues rather than culture and art.</td> </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; vertical-align: top;"= ></tr> </tbody> </table> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">*These cabinet members were longstanding leaders of tr= aditional parties but switched party affiliations to join one of the two ti= ny extremist parties controlled by De la Espriella, the National Salvation = Movement and Defenders of the Homeland.</p> <h3 style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webki= t-font-smoothing: antialiased; clear: both; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', = Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-size: 25px; letter-spacing: n= ormal; line-height: normal; max-width: none;">Challenges and Opportunities = for the Left</h3> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The struggle against the new government began almost a= s soon as the election results were announced and will continue on August 7= , the day that Abelardo de la Espriella is scheduled to take office and the= second of Colombia’s two independence days.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">It will be a day of protests announced by the<span>&nb= sp;</span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-widt= h: none;">Pacto Historico,</em><span> </span>starting with civil disob= edience in the city of Barranquilla led by Senator Ivan Cepeda.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">De la Espriella has threatened a military offensive th= at is likely to be the way he brings U.S. military into Colombia. He also s= ays he will eliminate corruption from the government by firing and prosecut= ing every corrupt government official during the same period of time. This = will be the cover for his attack on government social services and against = unionized government employees.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The threats are likely to be difficult to carry out be= cause the new government will start in a very weak position.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">• It has no clear legislative majority, and its b= ase of rightwing parties is fragmented and divided. There are currently 28 = parties represented in either the Senate or Chamber or both. The largest is= the<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: ita= lic; max-width: none;">Pacto Historico</em><span> </span>which with it= s allies, the Green Alliance and representatives of smaller parties, is lik= ely to be able to block Se la Espriella’s legislative initiatives as = shown by the vote on the new President of the Senate.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">• De la Espriella lacks full control of any of th= e institutions of the state including the military and judiciary.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">• There is still a potential that the Constitutio= nal Court will nullify his election.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">• There is a growing sense of betrayal by De la E= spriella among those who voted for him.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">• De la Espriella is unlikely to receive any sign= ificant help from his mentors and handlers in the United States.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The first 100 days will be the first test of the left = under the new government. Defending itself against repression, legal and il= legal, up to and including the possible arrest and deportation of President= Petro, will be the first, but not the only priority. The defensive struggl= e will require a combination of action by the<span> </span><em style= =3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Pacto</em= ><span> </span>and its allies in the Senate and the Chamber of Represe= ntative with the ongoing fight in the judicial system, but the most importa= nt ingredients will be the mobilization on the streets in demonstrations an= d strike action.</p> <div class=3D"float-left width-half" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-w= idth: none; display: inline; float: left; margin-right: 1.25rem; width: 325= px;"> <div style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none;"><img class=3D"width= -whole" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; border: 1px solid black; height: a= uto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; display: inline; width: 325px= ;" src=3D"https://againstthecurrent.org/files/Pacto-Historico-poster.jpg" /= ></div> <div class=3D"caption" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; fo= nt-size: smaller; font-style: italic; line-height: normal; margin: 2px 1rem= 1rem;">Pacto Historico’s campaign poster.</div> </div> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-= box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Pacto Historico</em><span> = </span>and the rest of the left are in a strong position to fight back if t= hey can mobilize those who voted for the Pacto. In the legislative election= s held on March 21, the candidates of the<span> </span><em style=3D"bo= x-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Pacto Historico= </em><span> </span>received 4,471,238 votes (21.4%) out of the total o= f 20,900,614 total cast.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">In the first round of presidential voting, the Pacto&r= squo;s candidate Ivan Cepeda received 9,688,361 votes (31.2%) out of a tota= l of 23,978,304, and in the second round, Cepeda, received 12,708,312 out o= f a total of 26,344,960 votes cast.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The social base of the<span> </span><em style=3D"= box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Pacto Histori= co</em><span> </span>is the urban working class, especially the organi= zed labor movement. While the combined membership of the three union federa= tions, the CUT, CGT and CTC, amounts to only about 850,000 workers out of a= working-age population of about 35,000,000, the unions have a huge followi= ng beyond their membership because the unions negotiate with the government= every year to determine the next year’s annual minimum salary.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Both within and beyond the working class, the<span>&nb= sp;</span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-widt= h: none;">Pacto</em><span> </span>has also grown through the rise of t= he self-conscious mass movements of Afro- Colombianos, the Indigenous Minga= , and the feminist, LGBTQ+ and environmentalist movements.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">A good approximation of the ascendant growth curve of = the left in Colombia is found in its presidential election results. Over th= e course of the last seven presidential elections from 2002 to 2026, the le= ft’s candidates progressively increased their vote totals from 680,00= 0 votes (6.6%) to 12,708,712 votes (48.70%).</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Beyond surviving threatened repression and defending t= he gains made during the Petro years, the<span> </span><em style=3D"bo= x-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Pacto</em><span= > </span>faces the challenge of continuing to grow. Its greatest weakn= esses lie in its failure to build a membership party, and its failure to de= velop broad new layers of leaders.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">The<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-= box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Pacto</em><span> </span>is = now addressing both of these issues with a membership drive and a drive to = recruit candidates to run for local offices from city council seats to the = offices of mayors and governors.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">To get some idea of the size of this challenge, you on= ly have to look at the fact that currently 142 members of the<span> </= span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: no= ne;">Pacto</em><span> </span>serve as city council members out of a to= tal of 12,072 city council members in the country. Their allies, the Greens= , have only 10 city council members.</p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Meanwhile the parties of the right all have hundreds o= r thousands of council members: the<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizi= ng: border-box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Centro Democratic</em= ><span> </span>has 1876;<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: bo= rder-box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Cambio Radical</em><span>&n= bsp;</span>has 1243; the<span> </span><em style=3D"box-sizing: border-= box; font-style: italic; max-width: none;">Partido de la U</em><span> = </span>has 1246; the Liberals have 1834¸the Conservatives have 1710.<= /p> <p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 1rem 0px; -webkit= -font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: normal; max-width: none; overflo= w-wrap: break-word;">Colombia’s left has enormous experience fighting= under adverse conditions of violent repression, and it has not only surviv= ed but grown to become the most significant political force in this country= . Now, the next year will be a serious test of its resilience.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div width=3D"1" style=3D"color:white;clear:both">_._,_._,_</div> <hr> Groups.io Links:<p> =20 You receive all messages sent to this group. =20 =20 <p> <a target=3D"_blank" href=3D"https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/42656">Vi= ew/Reply Online (#42656)</a> | <a target=3D"_blank" href=3D"mailto:[email protected]?subject=3DRe:%20%5= Bmarxmail%5D%20Update%20on%20Colombia">Reply to Group</a> =20 | <a target=3D"_blank" href=3D"mailto:[email protected]?subject= =3DPrivate:%20Re:%20%5Bmarxmail%5D%20Update%20on%20Colombia">Reply to Sende= r</a> =20 | <a target=3D"_blank" href=3D"https://groups.io/mt/120456431/6024700">Mute= This Topic</a> | <a href=3D"https://groups.io/g/marxmail/post">New Topic</a> <br> <hr style=3D"width:25%;margin-right:100%">POSTING RULES & NOTES<br /> #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.<br /> #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived.<br /> #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern.<br /> #4 Do not exceed five posts a day.<hr style=3D"width:25%;margin-right:100%"= > <a href=3D"https://groups.io/g/marxmail/editsub/6024700">Your Subscription<= /a> | <a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]">Contact Group Owner</a> | <a href=3D"https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/10173629/6024700/1441833971/x= yzzy">Unsubscribe</a> [[email protected]]<br> <div width=3D"1" style=3D"color:white;clear:both">_._,_._,_</div> --BbXT8ctCnIggYt0pLCYL--