Colombia has become the latest country to elect a right-wing ally of Donald Trump as its next leader but experts say it is not a given that Abelardo de la Espriella will follow the American president’s lead in attacking universities.
The businessman and lawyer won the country’s election earlier this month with a narrow 49.7 per cent lead and will probably focus his immediate efforts on his campaign promise to crack down on crime and drug trafficking.
In the meantime, Colombian universities are looking to vice-president elect José Manuel Restrepo to understand what the swing back to a right-wing administration could mean for the sector.
Restrepo served as a minister in the Iván Duque administration of 2018-22, which oversaw the introduction of free tuition at public universities for those belonging to lower income and disadvantaged groups. That widening of access has been expanded further in recent years.
His return to government follows a fiercely contested battle for the presidency, which saw de la Espriella triumph over left-wing candidate Iván Cepeda, despite Cepeda standing as a close ally of sitting president Gustavo Petro.
