Colombian presidential vote bucks South America’s leftist trend

CONSERVATIVE Alvaro Uribe’s landslide victory in Colombia’s presidential election has interrupted a series of election triumphs by leftist candidates across South America.

Radical figures such as Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Boliva’s Evo Morales have sought to move the continent away from the US sphere of influence, and more moderate leftists have also taken power in Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

However, Mr Uribe became the first incumbent to win re-election in Colombia in more than a century after pledging to continue fighting crime and reducing poverty.