As the first Colombian election after the historic signing of the peace deal approaches, the good news is that the conflict has blessedly ended, but the implementation of the accord has been complicated and contentious. It does not help that the political establishment stands fractured and discredited. The risk is that the country’s unsettled politics could upend the peace.
What issues are shaping Colombia’s presidential race ahead of the May 27 vote, and how have the top candidates gotten where they are today? What factors will decide the election’s outcome? Would any of the front-runners pursue radically different policies from the current administration of centrist President Juan Manuel Santos?
Maria Velez de Berliner, Alberto J. Bernal, Adam Isacson, Juan David Escobar Valencia
In these interviews with Joachim Bamrud for Latinvex, Michael Shifter discusses the political outlook for Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, three countries in which upcoming 2018 presidential elections are still very uncertain.