Colombia’s ruling left-wing coalition, Pacto Historico, has put forward 10 candidates who will compete in the primary ahead of the 2026 elections.
The names put forward include multiple allies of the current President Gustavo Petro, former officials and social leaders who represent different sectors within the left.
Carolina Corcho (42)
Diana Carolina Corcho Mejia is a physician, psychiatrist and political scientist.
She was Petro’s Minister of Health and Social Protection from 2022 until 2023.
Between 2018 and 2022, she was the president of the Corporacion Latinoamericana Sur, A civil society organization that focuses on various public policy issues regarding agriculture, economy, health and human rights.
Corcho also co-founded the Network of Progressive Women of Latin America.
Gloria Florez (64)
Senator Gloria Florez Schneider is a sociologist, politician and activist.
She has been active at the Minga Association, a human rights group.
Florez served as the Secretary of Government of Bogota between 2014 and 2016 under Petro’s mayorship.
Susana Muhamad (49)
Maria Susana Muhamad Gonzalez is a political scientist, environmentalist and politician.
She was Petro’s Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development between 2022 and 2025.
Muhamad was the president of the 2024 United Nations Conference on Biodiversity, which she organized in Cali.
During Petro’s mayorship, she served as Secretary of the Environment and Secretary General of Bogota.
Maria Jose Pizarro (47)
Senator Maria Jose Pizarro Rodriguez is an activist, politician and artist.
Pizarro is the daughter of slain guerrilla leader Carlos Pizarro, with extensive experience in government and politics.
She worked at the National Center for Historical Memory, which played a key role in establishing the truth about what happened in Colombia’s armed conflict as part of the ongoing peace process with the now-defunct guerrilla group FARC.
She has been active in peace initiatives, most notably as co-president of the Peace Commission and as a negotiator in peace talks with guerrilla group ELN.
Gloria Inez Ramirez (69)
Gloria Inez Ramirez Rios is a teacher, trade unionist and politician.
Ramirez started her political career at a young age when she joined the left-wing Union Patriotica party. She is one of the few survivors of the political genocide against the party.
She was the first female president of the Colombian Federation of Education Workers (FECODE) and a member of the Executive Committee of the Colombian Workers’ Union (CUT).
Ramirez has dedicated herself to women’s rights, gender equality and labor rights.
Petro appointed her as Minister of Labor in 2022. She served in that capacity until early 2025.
Ali Bantu Ashanti (39)
Ali Bantu Ashanti is a lawyer and human rights advocate.
He is the founder and director of Racial Justice, an Afro-Colombian lawyers collective that advocates for emancipation and human rights.
Bantu is an expert commissioner for an ongoing judicial reform process and an activist for victims of police brutality and military abuse.
Gustavo Bolivar (59)
Gustavo Bolivar Moreno is a politician, businessman, writer and screenwriter.
Bolivar is one of the most popular candidates because of his involvement in the creation of classic telenovelas and his years-long alliance with Petro.
He gained recognition in politics when he founded the Manos Limpias Foundation, an anti-corruption NGO, and organized anti-corruption protests.
Under Petro, Bolivar served as director of the Department for Social Prosperity.
Ivan Cepeda (63)
Senator Ivan Cepeda Castro is a politician, philosopher and activist.
Cepeda’s first big project was to found the National Movement for Victims, which intended to uncover and clarify crimes committed by state agents in the 1980s and 1990s.
He contributed to the creation of the Movement of Victims of State Crimes, bringing together victims of state crimes. The underlying aim was to uncover, expose and eradicate the criminal practices of the Colombian state.
As a representative, Cepeda promoted numerous debates on matters such as the prison system and the rights of victims of Colombia’s armed conflict.
He played a key role in criminal investigations into former president Alvaro Uribe and his eventual conviction.
Daniel Quintero (45)
Daniel Quintero Calle is a politician, an electronic engineer and a businessman.
He served as the Vice Minister of Information and Communications for the Digital Economy between 2016 and 2017 under former president Juan Manuel Santos.
Quintero was also the Mayor of Medellin between 2022 and 2023, which led to numerous corruption allegations.
Alfredo Saade (43)
Alfredo Saade Vergel is an evangelical pastor and politician.
Initially, Saade was aligned with conservative parties, but has since moved towards the left.
He fulfilled a short-lived, unofficial role as Petro’s Chief of Staff.
Saade calls himself a “Christian progressive” but has drawn criticism for his anti-abortion and anti-same-sex marriage stance.
The Pacto Historico will hold its primary elections on October 26th, which will ultimately decide who will be the left’s main presidential candidate.
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