Peter DeShazo, visiting professor of Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies at Dartmouth College and former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs: “Colombia follows the Latin American trend of political polarization at the expense of centrist parties and candidates. Polls point to the leftist Gustavo Petro winning the first round of voting on May 29 by a comfortable margin over the likely runner-up, Federico Gutiérrez, with the second round in June looking to be closer. Petro is the candidate of change, benefiting from deep citizen dissatisfaction with the incumbent Duque administration and the socioeconomic status quo. The economy—especially high unemployment—and corruption are key voter concerns, favoring Petro. The rightist Gutiérrez also promises change but must have votes from the weakened Uribe/Duque camp, placing him in the position of courting uribista support while fending off charges that he is the candidate of former President Uribe. As with Uribe, his trump card is security, which may not play as well as in past elections. If they are the contenders, both Petro and Gutiérrez will…”