COLOMBIA VOTES FOR A SECOND ROUND OF DRAMA

Colombia’s voters went to the polls Sunday to enjoy the familiar democratic tradition of choosing between three people who all insist they are the antidote to the current mess, with surveys kindly predicting a close race so nobody has to pretend this is simple. The left’s Ivan Cepeda, a 63-year-old senator backed by outgoing President Gustavo Petro, is leading but apparently not enough to clear the 50% hurdle, because even in politics you can’t have a winner until the bureaucracy gets its dramatic second act. Standing by are independent businessman and former lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella and right-wing senator Paloma Valencia, who may become the country’s first female president if the centrist and conservative vote does its usual civic duty of splitting itself into useful little fragments. In short: more than 40 million eligible voters, one promised reform agenda, two would-be outsider vibes, and a likely runoff—because nothing says decisive leadership like postponing decisiveness.