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Populism 'greater danger' than left versus right, says Colombian President
Colombia's center-right President Iván Duque spoke to The Jakarta Post on Monday night about his views on populist politicians and a little about his plans after he leaves office in August.
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Colombian President Iván Duque speaks at the IV CEO Summit of the Americas on June 8, 2022. on the sidelines of the IX Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California. (AFP/Patrick T. Fallon)
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olombian President Iván Duque has warned that political populism poses a greater danger to the world than the ideological division between left and right, especially in Latin America, where the rise of populist politicians could derail decades of economic development.
Duque, the center-right President whose term ends in early August following the election of leftist politician Gustavo Petro last month, said that populism, coupled with political polarization and the shared notion of truth, could “doom” the prospect of progress in any region in the world.
“If you have those three pieces combined, you’re basically doomed. They [populist politicians] will destroy everything that you have before you. I think the biggest dilemma in Latin America is more demagogues versus pedagogues and autocrats versus democrats,” Duque told The Jakarta Post during an interview on Monday night.
The 45-year-old conservative politician also warned that a combination of illicit funding, social media pressure and the use of violence could be the vehicle for what he called “political opportunists” to destroy democracy.
“It’s an experiment that is happening in Indonesia, Canada, Iran, Taiwan, Korea [...] and the United States. Just to derail the trust people have in institution,” he said.
Duque was responding to a question on whether the series of wins from leftist candidates in Latin and South American countries could pose a problem to development in the region.
He was quick to respond that the ideological battle between the left and right was no longer relevant, and that political leaders had adopted policy positions taken by their rivals from across the aisle.
