Paloma Valencia is a Colombian politician, lawyer, and presidential candidate for the far-right Democratic Center (CD).
Child of political elites
Valencia was born on January 19th, 1978, into two powerful families in Popayan, Cauca.
Through her grandfather, she is from a noble family of Spanish origin.
During colonial times, the Valencia family controlled the Mint of Popoyan, one of the most influential mints in Spain’s colonial territories in the final century of colonial rule.
Like other elite families in Popayan, the Valencia family played a significant role in the colonial slave economy, owning mines and estates.
After the republicans won independence in 1819, the Valencia family became one of the most powerful opponents of the abolitionist movement until the Civil War in 1851. This war was won by the abolitionists.
The family’s base of power expanded to Bogota in the early 20th century, mainly through Valencia’s great-grandfather, poet Guillermo Valencia, who had become a major force in the Conservative Party.
The presidential candidate’s grandfather, Guillermo Leon Valencia, would be the president of the Republic between 1962 and 1966, a term that is best remembered by the attack on guerrillas that would mark the beginning of Colombia’s armed conflict.
Valencia’s father spent 16 years in Congress as a representative and senator for the Conservative Party.
The presidential candidate entered politics with the Conservative Party in 2002 and joined the far-right Alas Equipo Colombia in 2006.
Education and career
The Laserno family, the mother’s side of Valencia, is highly influential in Colombia’s academic and media landscapes.
Valencia’s grandfather, Mario Laserno, founded the University of the Andes, where she studied Law and later worked as a professor.
Her second cousin, Paulo Laserna, was president of Caracol and RCN for several years.
With the help of her mother, Dorotea Laserna, Valencia started her journalism career in 2011 as a columnist at newspapers El Espectador, El Pais, Diario del Huila, El Liberal, El Meridiano, and El Nuevo Siglo, and the radio program La Hora de la Verdad, where her mother was a producer.
Valencia opened her own website, La Otra Esquina, which failed.
She first entered Congress in 2014, representing the CD, for which she has served three consecutive terms.
Her time in Congress was marked by her loyalty to the party’s founder, former president Alvaro Uribe.
Valencia became the first female presidential candidate for the CD after the party held its primary in December 2025.
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