Colombian candidates argue on social media over a presidential debate that they have not yet held

Bogotá.- The candidates for the Presidency of Colombia, the far-right Abelardo de la Espriella and the leftist Iván Cepeda, are maintaining an intense discussion on social media over a debate that has not yet taken place due to a lack of an agreement to hold it before the second round of the elections, which will be held on June 21.

This Monday, Cepeda asked De la Espriella to “not hide behind his vice-presidential running mate,” the economist and former Minister of Finance José Manuel Restrepo, and called on him to finalize the meeting between the two.

“The debate is between you and me. Colombians have the right to hear directly from those who aspire to govern them, without intermediaries or spokespersons,” Cepeda said in a statement.

Furthermore, the leftist candidate recalled that “in all the democracies of the world,” including Colombia’s, “presidential debates are between those who aspire to hold the Presidency of the Republic.”

“Do not look for someone to replace you, someone to defend you, or someone to answer for you. Leadership is exercised by showing your face, assuming your own positions, and submitting them to public scrutiny,” added Cepeda.

Still without reaching agreements

De la Espriella’s response did not take long to arrive: “Since October I have been challenging you to a debate and you hid in your guerrilla warfare formula: shooting from where you cannot be seen, camouflaged behind your mentor, (President Gustavo) Petro, your boss; the boss of the mafia and the criminals who forced people to vote for you in the first round and who are now threatening those who intend to vote for me in the second.”

The far-right candidate had invited Cepeda to a debate organized by Semana magazine this Tuesday at 19:00 local time (00:00 GMT), which was ultimately not accepted by the leftist.

In contrast, Cepeda asked the management of the private channels RCN and Caracol and the public broadcaster RTVC on Saturday to organize a debate between him and the far-right politician, a decision subject to the reach those media outlets have.