World
Colombia's New President Shifts Nation Rightward
Right-wing lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella has been sworn in as Colombia's president after winning a run-off election on promises to crack down on armed groups, cut government spending by as much as 40 percent, and revive the South American country's oil and gas industry.
The new president, who replaces leftist Gustavo Petro, continues the rightward political shift in Latin America. De la Espriella, 48, took the oath of office on Friday, breaking with tradition by holding the ceremony not in the capital, Bogota, but in Cali, a city in Colombia's volatile southwest that has long borne the brunt of the government's conflict with armed groups. The choice signalled a decisive break from the strategy of negotiated peace with those groups pursued by outgoing leftist leader Gustavo Petro, whom de la Espriella defeated in June's run-off. De La Espriella has dismissed Petro's policy as a failure.
Source: Al Jazeera English
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