Colombia will hold its runoff presidential elections on June 21, with left-wing Iván Cepeda from the current governing Historical Pact party facing Abelardo de la Espriella from the far-right Defenders of the Homeland party.The future of the Colombian Amazon, fossil fuel phaseout and the rights of traditional communities are all at stake, with both candidates proposing dramatically different approaches to tackle environmental issues.Cepeda’s program, analyzed by Mongabay, promises to halt oil and gas and protect territories and communities; de la Espriella has promised to expand fossil fuel production and mining.Both have very different approaches to ending violence, which is linked to deforestation and environmental degradation, with Cepeda focusing on total peace and large-scale land redistribution and de la Espriella on greater force and militarization.
Colombia’s first round of presidential elections on May 31 saw right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella take the top spot with 43.7% of the vote, followed by left-wing candidate Iván Cepeda, with 40.9%. The future of the Colombian Amazon, the fossil fuel phaseout commitments made by current President Gustavo Petro and the rights of Indigenous peoples and other traditional communities are all at stake during the runoff on June 21.
