Growing number of Colombians feel most comfortable in the political center
The number of people who identify themselves as right-wing has decreased dramatically since 2019, according to Colombia’s statistics agency DANE.
The statistics agency asked people to ranked their political bias on a scale of one (left) to 10 (right) in 2019 and 2021.
In 2019, 26.8% of the respondents ranked their bias between seven and 10, which the DANE deemed right-wing.
Two years later, those considered right-wing had dropped to 17.9%.
The percentage of people who ranked their bias as five or six, and were deemed the political center, increased from 39.6% in 2019 to 44% last year, according to the DANE.
The percentage of people who indicated a left-wing bias increased from 11.8% to 14%.
Colombians’ political bias
The percentage of people who didn’t know or wouldn’t respond increased from 21.8% to 23.8%.
The DANE released the results of their poll weeks after congressional elections in which the far-right Democratic Center party of President Ivan Duque received a major blow.
The elections made the progressive “Historic Pact” party of opposition leader Gustavo Petro the biggest party in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Moderately liberal and conservative parties maintained their majority in both houses.
The DANE polls confirm results of similar polls held by the Javeriana University that also indicated that a large number of Colombians don’t want to be associated with either “the left” or “the right.”
