Article #44826

Abelardo de la Espriella, promising an iron-fist approach to crime, leads polls in Colombia’s presidential runoff election

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Abelardo de la Espriella, the far-right lawyer who is leading the polls ahead of Colombia’s presidential runoff election, has marketed his rum, wine and menswear brands – as well as his novels and albums on which he croons popular classics – under the label “De la Espriella Style”.

His shift from business suits to T-shirts, baseball caps and a meticulously trimmed beard suggest the influence of El Salvador’s populist autocrat Nayib Bukele.