The preliminary count of the second round of the presidential election in Colombia marks one of the most significant realignments in recent times in the map of Latin America’s affinity with the United States.
The pre-count indicates victory for Abelardo de la Espriella, from the right, who is supported by Donald Trump,
If the final count confirms the result, the independent candidate will join several other results in favor of:
- Nasry Asfura, explicitly supported by the White House, won in Honduras;
- The ruling party in Costa Rica, an ally of the USA, remained in power;
- José Antonio Kast, on the right, defeated the left in Chile.
Trump’s foreign policy, employing mechanisms such as the trade war, the immigration offensive and the deployment of troops to the Caribbean, for example, has become more confrontational than during his first term.
Thus, at the same time, it strengthened bilateral ties and kept Latin American leaders on constant alert, in a context marked in recent decades by China’s economic and diplomatic expansion.
The region is also going through a crisis of multilateralism, fueled by the .
In fact, the bloc that has consolidated the most in recent months has been one promoted by the White House: the Shield of the Americas, a security alliance that held its first forum in Miami with the participation of Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic.
The election year also includes voting in Brazil, which could definitively mark a profound regional change.
Lula is seeking re-election in the most populous country in the region, with his main opponent as his main opponent.
See what the relationship between Latin American leaders and Trump is like:
Trump allies:
- Javier Milei, yes Argentina
- Nayib Bukele, from El Salvador
- Daniel Noboa, from Ecuador
- Santiago Peña, from Paraguay
- José Antonio Kast, from Chile
- Nasry Asfura, from Honduras
Partners
- José Raúl Mulino, from Panama
- Rodrigo Paz, from Bolivia
- Laura Fernández, from Costa Rica
- Bernardo Arévalo, from Guatemala
Ideological rivals and strategic partners
- Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
- Claudia Sheinbaum, from Mexico
- Delcy Rodríguez, from Venezuela
- Yamandú Orsi, from Uruguay
Opponents
- Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, from Nicaragua
- Miguel Díaz-Canel, from Cuba
