De la Espriella—a large landowner who poses as a “full-time peasant”—has campaigned on hate rhetoric, stigmatizing leftists and social movements while promising to escalate state force. His incoming Minister of Agriculture, Indalecio Dangond Baquero, has deep ties to USAID, oil palm monopolies, and the paramilitary-linked cattle ranchers’ federation Fedegán—the very forces that historically dispossessed peasants. Peasant leaders fear evictions, paramilitary violence, the end of small-farmer support programs, and a crackdown on land recoveries and protests.
According to peasant leader Mauricio Contreras, from northern Cesar, what most defines the current situation for peasants is the imperialist onslaught ravaging the continent. “There is an explosion of factors shaping the changing situation in the country, which cannot be explained solely by the political and electoral situation. The broader factor relates to the domination of the peoples of Latin America and the reconfiguration of U.S. imperialism.”
Abelardo de la Espriella’s election follows the imperialist script, reflecting the kind of government the United States needs in our countries and the policies that, according to Donald Trump, will help Americans — or at least those in the ruling class — “grow up safe and sound.”
