BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia will elect a new president and vice president on May 31 in a vote that has been cast as a referendum on outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s policies.A former member of Colombia’s M-19 guerrilla group which fought for social justice in the 1970s and ‘80s, Petro, 66, has undertaken controversial peace negotiations with the country’s remaining rebel groups while pushing for social and economic reforms that include an overhaul of the nation’s labor laws.He also has broken with previous Colombian leaders in his approach to foreign affairs by challenging the United States in areas like anti-drug policy and immigration while maintaining some co-operation with the Trump administration on these matters.The fate of these policies hangs in the balance as voters head to the polls, testing Petro’s assertion that “the people will decide if the revolution is defeated or if it moves forward.”Here is what to know about Colombia’s presidential election.
3 candidates emerge from a field of 14There will be 14 candidates on the ballot, but the election has basically turned into a three-horse race.Colombia’s constitution bars Petro from seeking reelection. His party, the Historical Pact, will be represented by Iván Cepeda, 63, a three-term senator known for defending the victims of state crimes during Colombia’s decades-long conflict.One of Cepeda’s main rivals is Abelardo de la Espriella, 47, a bombastic lawyer nicknamed “The Tiger” who is running as an independent and has cast himself as an outsider. He claims he is running for the presidency without the support of any of the nation’s main political parties.
