Colombia will hold the first round of its presidential elections May 28, and Peru's presidential election runoff will be June 4. These two countries seem prepared to depart from the recent Latin American trend that favors left-leaning populist governments, and opt instead for the promise of more stability and security.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez will have a comfortable re-election, as Colombians seem to support his efforts to reduce crime and combat the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Having rejected a more centrist candidate in the first round of presidential elections, Peru must choose between a former president who nationalized the banks and now says it was a mistake and a populist who promises to follow Bolivia's path and nationalize oil and gas. Peruvians seem ready to give the repentant former president another chance, as Bolivia's example has caused them to have second thoughts.

Uribe came to power in 2002 with the promise of bringing security to the country and wage a tough fight against the different armed groups that have plagued Colombia for more than four decades. Though Colombia's crime rates are still very high compared to many countries, Uribe has succeeded in reducing the rates of kidnapping and common crimes, and most Colombians seem to recognize that. With support from the U.S.-financed "Plan Colombia," established by the previous administrations in Bogota and Washington, Uribe has been able to fight the FARC guerrillas directly, partially disband the paramilitary groups under the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia umbrella, and set a formal negotiation with the left-leaning National Liberation Army. Uribe also negotiated and signed a free trade agreement with the United States to promote Colombia's economic revival, though the agreement still needs to be ratified by both countries' legislatures.

However, crime is still prevalent, and Bogota's fight against the rebel groups is not over. Uribe has faced criticism from the political establishment and human-rights organizations for not being able to completely disarm the paramilitaries despite his claims to the contrary. The FARC is still a dangerous organization that has also formed a drug cartel, and the guerrillas' actions will continue beyond the election. The FARC usually steps up attacks against civilians in the weeks and days preceding elections, as it did before Colombia's congressional elections in March. There has not yet been a major attack leading up to the May 28 election. The FARC might have calculated that attacks would not be able to change the result of this election and will instead try to regroup after the government's Plan Patriota offensive -- a plan specifically designed to combat the FARC -- and wait to attack.

Polls indicate that most Colombians support Uribe, recognizing his efforts to stabilize the country, reduce crime and attract investments, and also recognizing that the fight against the FARC is far from over. However, Uribe's government has also faced allegations of wrongdoing related to Colombia's internal security services that almost derailed his campaign a few weeks ago.

Most opposition politicians and intellectuals fear that Uribe has been gathering considerable power around his office (such as changing the constitution to allow his re-election) and that his pursuit of law and order might endanger Colombia's democratic institutions. They fear that the people, attracted by Uribe's plain-spoken manner as well as his relative success in re-establishing confidence in Colombia's economy and fighting the guerrillas, would give him carte blanche that he could misuse during his second term. This would lead him to start resembling former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, whose very successful first term and overwhelming re-election were followed by a less-than-glorious second term that ended with him in exile.

In Peru, another former president -- Alan Garcia -- will face populist newcomer Ollanta Humala in the presidential runoff. Unlike Colombia, where a right-wing president is likely to win re-election, Peru is choosing between two representatives of the left; centrist candidate Lourdes Flores was voted out in the first round. Peruvians seem ready to vote for the least-radical option this time.

Garcia was president of Peru from 1985 to 1990. Elected at age 36, he headed an active government under which he nationalized the private banks, defaulted on Peru's foreign debt and led the country into hyperinflation as the Shining Path rebel organization terrorized Peru's rural communities. Garcia ran for office again in 2001 and was defeated by current President Alejandro Toledo Manrique. Since then, Garcia has publicly acknowledged that many of his policies were mistakes and has adopted rhetoric friendly to international investment and sound macroeconomic policies. Many Peruvians still feel certain distrust and anxiety over the possibility of another Garcia presidency. Polls show that he has the least support among the older population segments -- those that remember his administration.

Those older Peruvians are supporting the nationalist candidate, Humala. Humala has promised to nationalize Peru's hydrocarbons and says he strongly opposes the free trade agreement that Lima and Washington finished negotiating in 2005 and that Toledo just signed. The younger voters' points of reference are Bolivia, where President Evo Morales nationalized hydrocarbons May 1, and Venezuela, whose President Hugo Chavez has openly supported Humala.

Garcia, whose American Popular Revolutionary Alliance party is one of the oldest in Latin America, had difficulties attracting voters from defeated centrist Flores. For Flores' supporters, the runoff seemed to present little choice, but Chavez gave Garcia the opportunity to paint himself as a moderate and move into position to obtain most of the center-right votes.

Chavez criticized Peru's decision to sign the free trade agreement with the United States, and Garcia engaged him in a verbal confrontation that forced the Venezuelan president to moderate his support for Humala. Garcia successfully painted Humala as a puppet of Chavez and Morales and afterward gained more than 10 points over Humala in most opinion polls. Humala's reaction has been inarticulate, and his apparent slide in public opinion has been compounded by unexplained events, such as arriving late to the televised presidential debate held May 21. However, he is trying to show a strong performance during the last week of the campaign.

Peruvians seemed ready to decide that after electing two maverick candidates in a row -- Fujimori and Toledo -- making that same move again with Humala would be too risky. Furthermore, the populist examples in Bolivia and Venezuela are giving Peruvians second thoughts, and voters seem ready to hold their noses and choose the supposedly repentant Garcia over Humala.

Though a Garcia victory would seem to move Peru away from the nationalist populism represented by Humala, Morales and Chavez, Peru is still far from having a smooth path to stability and stellar economic performance. Garcia will be tested to see if he really thinks his past policies were mistakes. Regarding foreign policy, Garcia has already adopted a decidedly adversarial position against Chavez; however, he will likely have more in common with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet than Colombia's Uribe. That is, he will maintain a certain distance from Washington and support some initiatives that Brazil and Chile have promoted, such as renovating the United Nations. However, it will be easier for other countries to deal with a savvy politician like Garcia than with the determined nationalist Humala.