海角大神

With only four weeks remaining before Colombia鈥檚 general election, support for President Juan Manuel Santos is fading fast, says our correspondent in Medell铆n.

Despite economic indicators showing a strong economy 鈥� the Central Bank on Friday raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.5 percent in a move to prevent inflation in the face of a surging economy 鈥� the president lost ground to rivals in the latest polls.

鈥淚t鈥檒l take more than strong economic indicators to make Santos popular again 鈥� he鈥檚 really on the wane,鈥� says our correspondent. 鈥淗owever, it鈥檒l take a lot more than what we鈥檙e seeing currently from his competitors for him to lose the election.鈥�

Only 23 percent of respondents to a weekly survey by Ipsos Napole贸n Franco say they will vote for President Santos. Setbacks for the president have included national protests last year in the farm sector as well as a slowdown in peace talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)聽rebel group, according to the poll. Santos has initiated free-trade agreements with the United States and European Union at the alleged expense of Colombian farmers, while also聽prioritizing drawn-out peace talks with the FARC that are now in their 17th month of negotiations in Cuba.

That鈥檚 allowed a late surge from challengers including former Finance Minister Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, who is polling at 15 percent, and former Bogot谩 Mayor Enrique Pe帽alosa, who is polling at 11 percent. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote on May 25, then the election heads to a second-round runoff between the top two finishers.

But the economy is moving in favor of Santos.... For the rest of the story, continue reading at our new business publication聽