Jorge Enrique Botero

Correspondent

The newspaper La Jornada
Friday, July 26, 2024, p. 28

Bogotá. With the results of Sunday’s elections in Venezuela just a couple of days away, Colombia is turning its gaze toward its neighboring country, whose political fate will have, according to local analysts, far-reaching repercussions on Colombian life.

Although this is not the first time that the country has been on edge in anticipation of an election day in Venezuela, This time there are big stakes at stake, such as the possible return of right-wing forces to power, which generates a climate of high tension if we take into account that Colombia is experiencing the first experiment of a left-wing government in its history.comments to The Day political scientist and university professor Jaime Rueda.

Spokesmen for traditional parties have ventured to say that the elections in the neighboring country will be a kind of general essay of the Colombian presidential process, in 2026, when the country will decide whether to continue along the paths of change and social reforms, or return to the neoliberal project that has governed in recent decades. In the eyes of the common citizen, the empathy between the leaders of the traditional parties of both countries is clear, as well as the ideological and personal closeness between President Gustavo Petro and Nicolás Maduro.

Beyond its impact on Colombian politics, many sectors are focusing their attention on the electoral result this Sunday: 2.8 million Venezuelan migrants who are following the electoral process minute by minute.

Gathered in parks or on the side of the city’s main avenues, hundreds of young people who work delivering to homes engage in passionate discussions about what their lives will be like starting Monday. Most of them see themselves returning to their country, but there are many who call them naive: There are 3 million of us here and only 11,000 will be able to vote, that tells you everything, kid.says a young man hardened by skepticism from the saddle of his bicycle.

Businessmen, traders and investors are also keeping a close eye on election news. After a long recess of more than four years, in which the binational economy came to a complete standstill, President Iván Duque (2018-2022) dedicated himself to overthrow Madurobilateral trade experienced a modest increase of 6 percent in 2023, with transactions exceeding 673 million dollars. With the post-election panorama cleared, Colombian businessmen hope that, in the medium term, Venezuela will once again be, as it was for decades, the country’s second largest trading partner.

Three guerrilla groups with a long-standing presence along the 2,219-kilometer border will also have their eyes fixed on Sunday’s election results. In addition to taking advantage of the porosity of the border strip, the rebels of the National Liberation Army, two dissident groups of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, count on Venezuela as a guarantor country in the peace talks they are holding with the government, which could change depending on the results at the polls.