WHEN Colombia’s news channels declared Iván Duque the winner of the presidential election on June 17th, 45 minutes after polls closed, many Colombians were relieved. “I was terrified of Gustavo Petro,”—Mr Duque’s left-wing rival—said a woman waiting for the winner to give his acceptance speech at a convention centre in Bogotá. When Mr Duque came on stage he sought to overcome the campaign’s fear and bitterness. He would “turn the page of polarisation”, he promised.

Mr Duque’s victory, with 54% of the vote, was comfortable. The job that awaits him, starting on August 7th, will be arduous. He campaigned as a sceptic of the peace agreement with the FARC, a guerrilla group that ended its 52-year war against the state in 2016. He must now figure out how to revise the accord without pushing some former guerrillas to take up arms. Mr Duque will have to control the corruption, which fuelled the anger that gave Mr Petro 8m votes, more than any other left-wing candidate in…Continue reading
Source: The Economist – The Americas
Colombia’s new president is burdened with political baggage