By Luis Jaime Acosta
BOGOTA, June 21 (Reuters) - Colombia elected nationalist lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella as its new president on Sunday, according to an initial vote count, marking a sharp political turn and bringing a hardline security agenda and market-friendly policies to the fore.
Nicknamed "The Tiger" by his followers, De La Espriella portrayed himself as an anti-establishment savior capable of reviving Colombia's ailing economy and restoring order in a country rattled by illegal armed groups
and drug trafficking.
De La Espriella began gaining popularity early in the year with his tough-on-crime discourse. He pulled off a victory in the first round in late May with 43.7% of the vote and then beat leftist senator Ivan Cepeda in the runoff with 49.66% to Cepeda's 48.7%, according to the national registrar's tally.
De La Espriella, who blames outgoing President Gustavo for Colombia's economic and security woes, won over a plurality of voters with pledges to reduce the size of the state by 40%, broaden the tax base and end peace efforts with armed groups in favor of a hardened military response.
He plans to restart oil exploration and allow fracking to nearly double production to 1.3 million barrels per day.
De La Espriella claims to have self-financed his campaign and says his "Defenders of the Homeland" movement grew without support from outside political parties or business groups. Reuters could not independently verify this claim.
Aside from being an attorney, De La Espriella has a sprawling business empire that includes wine, rum, clothing and real estate. An investigative journalism outlet, La Silla Vacia, found that many of his businesses have been dissolved, are in debt and lost money overall in 2024, with his law firm being his most profitable endeavor. De La Espriella's campaign declined to answer La Silla Vacia's questions about the candidate's businesses, the outlet said, but later questioned its funding in a public letter. La Silla Vacia rejected allegations of bias.
LUXURY WATCHES ON AN IRON FIST
De La Espriella, 47, used a military salute throughout his campaign despite never having served in the military.
Often seen wearing luxury watches, designer sunglasses and with a well-groomed beard, De La Espriella has drawn comparisons to El Salvador's Nayib Bukele, who calls himself the "world's coolest dictator."
Bukele has implemented heavy-handed security policies and mega-prisons that pushed crime rates in El Salvador to among the lowest in Central America and prompted calls for other countries to adopt similar policies. He has detained more than 90,000 people in the process, drawing criticism from human rights groups.
De La Espriella denies he is imitating Bukele but has proposed 10 mega-prisons in Colombia.
De La Espriella has also faced criticism for legally representing Alex Saab, who faces charges in the U.S. of laundering money for ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. He has also represented people linked to corruption scandals, financial embezzlement and right-wing paramilitaries and says his professional relationships as an attorney do not involve any complicity or crime.
De La Espriella, a married father of four, grew up in the Caribbean city of Monteria and is a known singer of the region's traditional vallenato folk music. A citizen of the United States, Italy and Colombia, De La Espriella is set to assume the presidency on August 7.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta, edited by Nelson Bocanegra, Alexander Villegas, David Gregorio and Lincoln Feast)
