Colombia’s Duque eyes presidency after rightward shift

Significance

The 4 million votes secured by Ivan Duque of the Democratic Centre (CD) in a presidential primary, held the same day, affirmed that group as the country’s leading electoral force. Right-leaning parties are, at best, ambivalent about the country’s peace processes, but the strengthening of their position was not sufficiently conclusive to suggest a reversal of the peace process under the next Congress.

Impacts

• No significant shift away from Colombia’s pro-investment policies is likely in 2018.
• The FARC’s poor election results will provide little incentive for the ELN to follow them down the path of democratic politics.
• The crisis in neighbouring Venezuela, and the wave of migrants that it has caused, are likely to push Colombian voters further to the right.