Key Points
— Lawyer and businessman Abelardo de la Espriella has emerged as the leading right-wing candidate in Colombia’s May 31 presidential election, polling between 15% and 32% depending on the survey and running neck-and-neck with leftist Iván Cepeda
— He pledged to renounce his presidential salary and donate it to charity — following the playbook of Argentina’s Milei and the US’s Trump — while proposing 90 executive decrees on his first day, tax cuts, and a 10 trillion-peso health emergency plan
— His rise reflects the global trend of self-funded outsider candidates promising to shrink the state, as Colombia prepares for what polls suggest will be a closely contested race to succeed President Gustavo Petro
The Colombia election race for the May 31 presidential vote has crystallized into a two-way contest between the nationalist right and the institutional left, with lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella emerging as the most formidable conservative challenger to Iván Cepeda, the candidate of President Gustavo Petro‘s Pacto Histórico coalition. The Rio Times, the Latin American financial news outlet, reports that De la Espriella — a self-funded political outsider who has never held public office — represents the latest expression of the populist-outsider wave reshaping elections across Latin America and beyond.
His latest move — pledging to renounce his presidential salary and donate it to charity — follows the model set by Argentina’s Javier Milei, who raffled his congressional salary monthly, and Donald Trump, who accepted only $1 of his $400,000 annual pay during his first term. In Colombia, where public salaries for senior officials are a perennial source of voter resentment, the gesture carries particular weight.
Where De la Espriella Stands in the Colombia Election
Polls show a fragmented picture. An AtlasIntel survey put De la Espriella at 28 percent, essentially tied with Cepeda at 26.5 percent, while GAD3 gave Cepeda a wider lead at 35 versus 21 percent and the CNC placed the gap at 34.5 versus 15.4 percent. The variation reflects methodology — digital polls capture De la Espriella’s urban social media base more effectively than traditional face-to-face surveys.
In second-round simulations, the race tightens dramatically. AtlasIntel projects De la Espriella winning a runoff 44.2 to 34.9 percent, while GAD3 gives Cepeda the edge at 45 to 36 percent. The decisive variable is the 20-25 percent of voters who remain undecided — a bloc large enough to determine the outcome in either direction if no candidate reaches 50 percent on May 31.
The Outsider Platform
De la Espriella brands himself and his supporters as “los de nunca” — the ones who have never held power — in contrast to “los de siempre,” the career politicians who have cycled through government for decades. He finances his campaign with personal resources and bank credit, refusing outside donations as a proof of independence. His platform includes 90 executive decrees on his first day in office, tax reductions, state downsizing, and a 10 trillion-peso ($2.5 billion) emergency plan to stabilize the healthcare system within 90 days.
His business empire spans a high-profile law firm, liquor brands, and fashion ventures — including a pair of hand-painted Nike Air Force 1 sneakers he sold for 5 million pesos ($1,350), generating both media attention and criticism. He has received backing from the ultraconservative Salvación Nacional party and from established political figures, despite his outsider branding.
The Wider Pattern
De la Espriella’s rise fits a pattern visible from Buenos Aires to Washington: wealthy outsiders running against incumbent establishments on platforms of fiscal austerity, security hardlines, and anti-corruption rhetoric. His competitors include Paloma Valencia of the Centro Democrático, who polls third at 16-22 percent, and former Antioquia governor Sergio Fajardo in the center. The right-wing vote remains fragmented, and former president Álvaro Uribe has suggested Valencia and De la Espriella should consider uniting before the first round.
For investors watching Colombia, the election will determine whether the country continues Petro’s statist energy and social policies or pivots toward the deregulation and fiscal tightening that De la Espriella promises. With Petro’s disapproval at 53.5 percent and the economy still recovering from his reform agenda, the outcome remains genuinely uncertain — and the salary renunciation, whatever its symbolic value, is the least of what is at stake.
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