Colombians Vote Sunday Between Hard-Right Lawyer and Leftist Senator Seeking Peace-Process Changes

Voters in Colombia will choose a new president on Sunday between hard-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella and leftist senator Ivan Cepeda. -Colombian national, won May's first-round presidential vote with 44 percent of the ballots. Cepeda received 41 percent.

Up to 41 million voters are eligible to cast ballots. The campaign featured bomb attacks and the murder of a leading conservative presidential candidate in broad daylight in Bogota. Security has been the dominant issue.

U.S. backing for a 90-day campaign of airstrikes against armed groups producing coca. He advocates the right to carry arms, construction of mega-prisons, fracking, and cutting the size of the state.

He also stated it would be ideal to dollarize Colombia's economy. Cepeda, a 63-year-old senator and human rights defender, stated he would take stock of peace talks and make the necessary changes. He has favored dialogue over an iron-fist security approach.

U.S. President Trump offered his complete and total endorsement to De la Espriella and dubbed Cepeda a radical left Marxist. Washington has poured billions of dollars into Colombia's military and intelligence services over decades.

He showed off his singing skills and the millionaire life he led in Italy before the campaign. Some in the military and foreign diplomats in Bogota have expressed fears that a return to hardline security policies could provoke reprisal attacks. The first round showed a total collapse of Colombia's political center and traditional right.

"Both sides have very fervent followers, but another part of the country is voting out of fear of the other," said Julian Lopez, an analyst with Nalanda Analytica.