Columbia held the first-round of its presidential election on Sunday and the results continued the clear trend sweeping Latin America – conservative parties doing well on a platform of pursuing closer ties with the U.S. and less government control of the economy.

The pattern is consistent and clear. Columbia would become at least the sixth nation in the Americas to move to the right and eschew socialism.

Freedom Is Coming to the Americas

2023 Argentina
2025 Ecuador
2025 Bolivia
2025 Honduras
2025 Chile
2026 Costa Rica

Peru and Brazil may be the next dominos to fall.

Many of these new leaders are pro-Trump.

Inspired by both Milei and the U.S., country after country in Latin America began moving to the right: Ecuador in April, 2025, Bolivia in August, 2025, Honduras in November 2025, Chile in December 2025, and Costa Rica in February of this year.

In all of those countries the stepped-up activity of drug gangs has heightened fears about crime and become a potent campaign issue. But so too has been the economy.

In Colombia, Alberto de la Espriella won 43% of the vote on a free-market platform that promised to bring the fracking revolution to his country. Leftist Ivan Cepeda Castro, a former member of the Communist Party, won 40% of the vote but will be the underdog in the June 21 runoff because the third-place finisher in Sunday’s vote is endorsing de la Espriella.