美国国家公共电台 NPR Colombia's Presidential Election Moves To A 2nd Round Pitting Right Against Left

Colombia's Presidential Election Moves To A 2nd Round Pitting Right Against Left

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The American Civil War ended in 1865. That was a long time ago. Yet there is a case to be made that many of our elections since then have replayed some of the old Civil War divides. We mention this because Colombia just recently ended a 50-year-old guerrilla war, and its first presidential election since the peace accord replays some of their old divides. Two candidates made a runoff, one of them a former leftist guerilla, the other a right-wing candidate who does not like the peace deal at all. John Otis is in Bogota covering the election for NPR News.

Hey there, John.

JOHN OTIS, BYLINE¹: Hey. It's good to be here, Steve.

INSKEEP: So the right-wing candidate, who I guess got the most votes - right? - Ivan Duque - largely unknown until recently, right?

OTIS: Yeah, that's correct, Steve. But Duque is a 41-year-old lawyer, very intelligent, very articulate. He spent a lot of his time at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington working on economic issues. But the rap on Duque is that he's young, he's got no managerial experience and served just four years in the Colombian Senate before launching his presidential campaign. What he does bring to the table is the support of former Colombia President Alvaro Uribe, and this is a major factor here because Uribe is a hero to many Colombians because during his two terms in office, he ordered devastating² military attacks against Colombia's guerrilla groups. So with Uribe's support, Duque just shot to the top of the polls. Critics fear he could end up as a kind of a puppet president with Uribe pulling the strings³. But Duque is, of course, insisting he's his own man.

INSKEEP: So you've got the one candidate who wants to be really tough on the rebels and is associated with this president who was really tough on the rebels, and then you have this former leftist guerrilla. Who's he?

OTIS: This is Gustavo Petro. He was, in fact, part of the M-19 guerrilla group, which disbanded almost 30 years ago. And in the past, Colombians would reject leftist politicians like Petro because, you know, they figured they were still closet guerrillas. But now that the major Colombian rebel group, the FARC, has disarmed⁴ under the peace treaty, it's opened up a lot more political space for leftists like Petro. Petro has promised to govern on behalf of the poor. But his critics are now trying to paint him as a dangerous radical⁵ who plans to, you know, adopt some of the same policies that have led to food shortages and hyperinflation in socialist⁶ Venezuela right next door. So things really are getting quite polarized here between the right and the left ahead of the second-round election.

INSKEEP: Well, are things so polarized that this peace deal, which is not very old, could come apart?

OTIS: That is a possibility, Steve. Petro strongly supports this peace treaty, but Duque's big showing on Sunday reflects a growing frustration⁷ among Colombians for the peace accord. It ended a war that killed 220,000 people and vastly reduced violence, but Duque claims it's too lenient⁸ on former fighters. For example, those accused of war crimes are going to be able to avoid prison under the pact⁹, so Duque has promised to rewrite this treaty. Others think he might end up focusing on economic issues. But either way, he easily won the most votes Sunday, and polls place him as the favorite going into the runoff on June 17.

INSKEEP: Thanks very much. That's reporter John Otis in Bogota.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

3 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

4 disarmed   

v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。
• The swordsman disarmed his opponent and ran him through. 剑客缴了对手的械，并对其乱刺一气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

6 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

7 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

8 lenient   

adj.宽大的，仁慈的

参考例句：

• The judge was lenient with him.法官对他很宽大。
• It's a question of finding the means between too lenient treatment and too severe punishment.问题是要找出处理过宽和处罚过严的折中办法。

9 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。