Political scientist Patricia Muñoz Yi argues that Abelardo de la Espriella capitalized on the conservative vote and anti-Petrist sentiment with a more confrontational discourse that displaced the traditional right. Although he arrives as the favorite in the second round, she warns that Iván Cepeda retains key electoral strongholds and that the country’s polarization keeps the dispute for the Presidency of Colombia open.

Abelardo de la Espriella, who represents a hard and populist right, according to experts, will face Iván Cepeda, candidate of the Petro left.