Colombia’s Left Shows up at the Polls

It has been nearly 20 years since a leftist candidate in Colombia has won more than a symbolic handful of votes in a Presidential election. But Carlos Gaviria’s second-place showing in last week’s polling demonstrated that Colombia’s left has peeked back into electoral politics.

Though winner Alvaro Uribe’s victory was never seriously in doubt, Gaviria witnessed a steady climb in polls leading up to the election. He finished with 22%, compared to Uribe’s 62%.