Reading Time: 5 minutesBOGOTÁ – This week, Abelardo De La Espriella, the controversial lawyer hoping to be elected the next president of Colombia, called out his fellow right-wing competitor, Paloma Valencia, for avoiding an open debate to discuss the country’s most pressing problems.
De La Espriella criticized Valencia for being part of the political establishment, while presenting himself as one of the many who have never had a role in defining the nation’s future. “Dear Paloma, the campaign is not for little games,” he pressed in a post on X.
The verbal feud between the two conservative candidates trying to differentiate themselves in voters’ eyes marks the latest confrontation in a two-track presidential race. De La Espriella and Valencia are making every possible effort to reduce the advantage held by Iván Cepeda, a left-wing senator running as part of the incumbent coalition Pacto Histórico.
Tensions are running high across the conservative political spectrum. With less than a month to go before the first round of elections on May 31, Cepeda, with the support of President Gustavo Petro and his political machinery, leads in every major poll. Support from conservative voters is split between De La Espriella and Valencia, and the other 10 candidates are far behind.
