Saturday, May 26, 2018

'G-d save us from becoming Venezuela.' Colombians to vote in bitter presidential race

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - As Alberto Solis heads to the polls Sunday to cast his vote for Colombia's president, he knows what he wants — and what he doesn't.

“This country has its problems and we need a young, capable leader,” said the 76-year-old pharmacist. “And God save us from becoming Venezuela.”

Colombians are voting for president amid an avalanche of disastrous news from their neighbor to the east. Food shortages, hyperinflation and human rights abuses have forced more than 800,000 Venezuelans to immigrate to Colombia in recent years.

And Colombian voters see an object lesson in the Venezuelan collapse: Even the richest and most democratic nations can be turned into authoritarian wastelands by bad leadership. Colombia, only a year into its peace deal with the guerrilla group known as the FARC after 50 years of conflict, may be vulnerable to upheaval, depending on who wins.

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