{"text":[[{"start":7.55,"text":"Abelardo de la Espriella, a rightwing Trump-loving populist who calls himself “The Tiger”, appears to have won the second round of Colombia’s presidential election on Sunday, halting the South American nation’s foray into leftist politics."}],[{"start":21.95,"text":"De la Espriella, a fiery former criminal defence lawyer who has pledged to build mega-prisons in the rainforest to combat rising crime rates, won 49.65 per cent of the vote with 99.70 per cent of ballots tallied in an initial count on Sunday evening. "}],[{"start":39.95,"text":"De la Espriella defeated Iván Cepeda, the continuity candidate of Colombia’s outgoing leftist president Gustavo Petro, who received 48.71 per cent. The balance were blank votes."}],[{"start":53.45,"text":"A legally binding result will be issued once electoral authorities have reviewed the ballots along with any legal challenges in the coming hours and days."}],[{"start":62.45,"text":"“I want to be remembered as the re-builder of the nation, because Colombia deserves to become what it is meant to be: a Miracle Nation,” De la Espriella posted on X as the vote was tallied on Sunday evening. He will be sworn in as president on August 7 for a four-year term."}],[{"start":79.2,"text":"In a speech on Sunday evening, Cepeda said that while he recognises the result of the quick count, his campaign is challenging the results from some 33,000 ballot boxes."}],[{"start":90.55,"text":"Petro said in a series of posts on X that “no president can be proclaimed” until electoral judges have ratified the initial vote count, and that “there are many irregularities”."}],[{"start":101.8,"text":"“Please remain calm, citizens,” Petro said in one post. “The reality is that we have a country divided in half, with foreign interference stripping away our freedom.”"}],[{"start":112.35,"text":"De la Espriella, who holds US citizenship and owns property in Miami, received US President Donald Trump’s endorsement earlier this month."}],[{"start":122,"text":"Often clad in a Colombian football shirt and calling himself El Tigre, De la Espriella models himself on iconoclastic and charismatic rightwingers across the western hemisphere, including El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele and Argentina’s Javier Milei."}],[{"start":138.7,"text":"He has pledged to open up the countryside to fracking, and reverse Petro’s moratorium on new hydrocarbon and mining contracts. He also wants to repair relations with the US, which had become strained under Petro."}],[{"start":151.5,"text":"José Manuel Restrepo, a former finance minister and De la Espriella’s running mate, told the FT that the candidate would seek to reassure investors amid a widening fiscal deficit and attacks by Petro against the central bank over interest rates."}],[{"start":165.35,"text":"“What we are proposing is responsible fiscal management and a strong commitment to economic growth,” Restrepo said before Sunday’s vote."}],[{"start":173.2,"text":"“That means a fiscal adjustment programme that gradually reduces the size of the state by eliminating unnecessary spending, bureaucratic waste and patronage-driven political expenditures that have expanded in recent years.”"}],[{"start":186.89999999999998,"text":"But De la Espriella, who has never held public office, faces significant challenges. Congress is divided, with Petro’s coalition holding the largest number of seats but lacking a clear majority. De la Espriella — an outsider without a major party behind him — will have to cut deals with politicians from the country’s rightwing and centrist movements."}],[{"start":208.09999999999997,"text":"He is also likely to face strong resistance from Petro’s base, particularly in impoverished rural areas and pockets of major cities. Petro was a figurehead of nationwide anti-inequality protests in 2021 that brought parts of the country to a standstill, with property damaged and at least 46 people killed amid clashes with security forces. "}],[{"start":228.99999999999997,"text":"Petro’s election in 2022 elevated the role of indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities in national politics, something that activists say they will defend during De la Espriella’s presidency."}],[{"start":241.04999999999998,"text":"“We are not going to let anyone usurp our territories, which is where the natural resources are,” said William Pilcue Valbuena, a leader of a Nasa indigenous community in the southwestern Cauca province who organised voters for Cepeda. "}],[{"start":255.24999999999997,"text":"Chief among voters’ concerns in the election, according to pollsters, was security. Violence and cocaine production have surged across the countryside 10 years after the government signed a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), at the time the country’s largest rebel group."}],[{"start":272.45,"text":"De la Espriella has pledged to deploy the military to fight guerrillas and drug traffickers head-on, while Cepeda had promised to continue Petro’s policy of seeking disarmament through negotiation. "}],[{"start":283.25,"text":"José Guevara, a taxi driver in Bogotá, the capital, said that De la Espriella’s hardline policies were necessary to quell the violence roiling the countryside. "}],[{"start":293.4,"text":"“You can only defeat violence with violence,” Guevara said, as he weaved through the city’s snarling traffic beneath a billboard emblazoned with De la Espriella’s slogan “Strong for the homeland”."}],[{"start":306.9,"text":"“Sitting down with armed groups will only make them stronger.”"}],[{"start":316.35,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1782095994_7045.mp3"}