BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The election of a businessman and lawyer who has called for expanding oil and mining in Colombia is raising questions about whether political shifts underway across Latin America could reshape the future of the Amazon rainforest.
Abelardo de la Espriella, who ran on a platform of reasserting state control and prioritizing economic development over environmental protections, is set to become Colombia’s next president.
Colombia’s election result comes as Peru appears poised to elect Keiko Fujimori as president following a closely contested vote, according to the Associated Press. Fujimori campaigned on a law-and-order and pro-business platform.
Meanwhile, Brazil is preparing for a presidential election that could push the country back to the right if Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, defeats President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the AP reported.
De la Espriella replaces President Gustavo Petro, a leftist former guerrilla who made environmental protection and a transition away from fossil fuels central pillars of his administration. The shift represents a sharp reversal in Colombian policy.
The three countries that are experiencing or facing these political shifts — Colombia, Peru and Brazil — hold the largest shares of the Amazon basin. The elections raise the possibility that the region could move toward policies that place greater emphasis on economic growth, extractive industries and efforts to combat organized crime and reassert state control in remote regions, according to the AP.