Why Poverty Reduction Was Not Enough to Save Colombia’s Left
And what it reveals about a mistake Latin America’s left cannot afford to make.
Colombia’s left did what left-wing governments are supposed to do and what Mexico’s government is also trying to do. It reduced poverty, raised wages, and pushed reforms meant to improve the lives of workers and the elderly.
Yet this week, Colombian voters moved away from that government and replaced it with one by Abelardo de la Espriella, a wealthy hard-right lawyer promising a politics closer to Trump, Milei, Bolsonaro, and Bukele.
The question is why Colombian voters did this.
