"U.S. ASSET": Colombia's Bukele TAKES POWER

Breaking Points hosts Ryan Grim and Katie Halper interview Juan David Rojas, an Unherd columnist reporting from Bogotá, about Colombia's historic presidential election and the stunning contrast between left-wing governance in Colombia versus Mexico. Abelardo De La Espria narrowly defeated the governing party candidate in Colombia's closest election ever, winning by just 200,000 votes. Rojas reveals De La Espria is a mob lawyer who made millions representing drug-dealing paramilitaries and hasn't lived in Colombia for a decade, calling him "literally a US asset" who is a registered Republican and Trump donor. The conversation pivots to explaining why Colombia's left lost while Mexico's left dominates. Rojas credits outgoing President Gustavo Petro with raising minimum wages 40 percent and progressive labor reforms that made him Colombia's most popular recent president. However, Petro's "climate fundamentalist" approach destroyed the state oil company Ecopetrol, causing stagflation and soaring gas prices, while his soft-on-crime philosophy alienated voters facing security crises. By contrast, Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum, despite being a climate scientist, is expanding fracking for energy sovereignty while keeping prices stable, and her security minister has aggressively increased incarceration rates while driving down homicides. Rojas predicts De La Espria will fail due to market fundamentalist policies including privatizing state companies and firing 40 percent of government employees, which will trigger mass protests within months. The episode concludes with Rojas noting that US taxpayer money will likely bail out the incoming administration while US oligarchs capitalize on privatization.

• Abelardo De La Espria, Colombia's incoming president, is a mob lawyer who represented narco-paramilitaries and is a registered US Republican who donated to Trump's campaign.
• De La Espria defeated the governing left-wing party by only 200,000 votes in Colombia's closest presidential election in history and hasn't lived in Colombia for ten years.
• Outgoing President Gustavo Petro raised minimum wages 40 percent and passed labor reforms but destroyed the state oil company Ecopetrol citing climate concerns, causing stagflation.
• Mexico's left-wing President Claudia Sheinbaum, a climate scientist, is expanding fracking to ensure energy sovereignty while keeping energy prices stable for citizens.
• Mexico's government has increased incarceration rates and taken aggressive action against crime, with Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch driving down homicide rates significantly.
• Rojas predicts De La Espria will fail due to plans to privatize state companies and fire 40 percent of government employees, triggering mass protests.
• The contrast between Mexican and Colombian left-wing governance reveals energy affordability and effective security policy as key factors in electoral success for progressive movements.