Colombian Elections Analysis: What Next?

On 17th June, Iván Duque won the presidential run-off to become Colombia's next president. The conservative candidate, backed by former president Alvarado Uribe, beat former guerrilla leader Gustavo Petro, the first left wing candidate to make it this far in the presidential race in Colombia's recent history.

Duque will face a divided country. The future of the peace agreement reached with the Farc guerrilla group in 2016 now hangs in the air, with Duque keen to make changes to the historic but divisive deal. He will also need to respond to Colombians' top concerns during this election, which were corruption, health, employment and education, and questions of public security, as well as the Venezuelan crisis.

This event will be an opportunity to discuss the factors that led Colombia to such a polarising election. The panel will also look at what the next steps are for the country and the challenges faced by the new president-elect, Iván Duque.

We are delighted to welcome Maria Luisa Puig, Senior Analyst for Latin America at the Eurasia Group, and Néstor Castañeda, Lecturer in Latin American Political Economy at UCL's Institute of the Americas, to speak. Louise Winstanley, Programme and Advocacy Manager of ABColombia, will chair the event.