Campaigning ends in Colombia as left fights to stay in power

BARRANQUILLA: Campaigning for Colombia's May 31 presidential elections wrapped up Sunday, with the left battling to hold on to power during a dramatic uptick in violence.

Thousands cheered at a rally held by frontrunner Ivan Cepeda, a leftist, in the northern seaport city of Barranquilla, where he promised to invest in social programs and "put the state in service" of the "excluded."

For the first time since taking office, the left is proposing to boost the state assistance programs backed by President Gustavo Petro, who is barred from seeking reelection.

Polls predict a June 21 runoff between Cepeda, a 63-year-old human rights advocate and philosopher, and Abelardo de la Espriella, a wealthy right-wing lawyer who has taken a hard line against illegal armed groups.

De la Espriella campaigned at a packed bullring in the northwestern city of Medellin, calling for a crackdown on drug trafficking and the crimes it funds.

Colombia's domestic security situation has sunk to its lowest point in a decade despite Petro's efforts to negotiate peace with guerrilla, paramilitary and drug trafficking organizations that have grown stronger since the 2017 disarmament of FARC, once the largest guerrilla group in South America.

"For people like you, protection, and for the criminals? Death or prison!" shouted de la Espriella, 47, from a bulletproof glass booth in which he gives his speeches.

He also vowed to defeat communism and make Colombia great, echoing the platforms of his role models, US President Donald Trump and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador.

Opposition senator Paloma Valencia, polling in a distant third place, is vying to become Colombia's first woman president and told a crowd of supporters in the capital Bogota that she would bring "authority and order."