Historic Pact candidate pledges anti-poverty agenda ahead of Colombia’s May 31 presidential election.

Senator Iván Cepeda, presidential candidate for Colombia’s ruling coalition Historic Pact (Pacto Histórico, in Spanish), said Friday in Bogotá that his campaign is aiming to secure victory in the first round of the May 31 elections with a platform focused on reducing poverty, inequality, hunger and unemployment.

RELATED: Petro Denounces Disinformation Plot Aimed at Linking Candidate Cepeda to FARC Dissidents Ahead of Colombia’s Elections

“Our program is about creating opportunities and prosperity for the entire nation. It seeks to eliminate poverty, overcome social inequality, end hunger and unemployment,” Cepeda said during a campaign event in the Colombian capital.

Supporters received the candidate with chants of “Iván, amigo, el pueblo está contigo,” as he held his final public rally in Bogotá before election day. Cepeda later thanked supporters through social media platform X and said his movement would win the vote.

Text Reads: THANK YOU, BOGOTÁ! Massive rally for my campaign today. This is what Plaza de Bolívar looks like:

The candidate, who belongs to the same political coalition as President Gustavo Petro, is scheduled to close his campaign Sunday in the Caribbean city of Barranquilla.

Cepeda said his campaign organized 117 public events across Colombia, drawing more than 650,000 people to plazas, avenues and public spaces in cities and municipalities throughout the country.

In a speech titled “For the Good of All, the Poor First,” Cepeda dedicated a large part of his remarks to criticizing former President Álvaro Uribe, whom he described as “the justification for the worst crimes committed in Colombia in recent decades.”

During a May 19 event in Popayán, Cepeda also said Senator Paloma Valencia, her family and Uribe should apologize “to Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant communities and Colombia’s peasantry.”

Text Reads: ¡This is how Bolívar Square is looking! There’s still time for them to arrive at the great Festival for Life, the campaign closing event in Bogotá by @IvanCepedaCast and @aida_quilcue. ¡Here you can breathe joy, excitement, and a lot of hope to win in the first round! #IvanYAidaEnPrimera.

Cepeda also defended the “Alliance for Life,” which he described as a coalition bringing together “progressives, liberals and reformists from across the political spectrum.” According to the campaign, he currently leads voting intention polls ahead of lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella and Valencia.

Vice-presidential candidate Aída Quilcué, a member of the Nasa Indigenous people, emphasized the participation of historically marginalized sectors in the campaign.

“Thank you for choosing me as vice-presidential candidate to represent Indigenous peoples, ethnic communities, Black communities and peasants, young people, women, the LGBTIQ+ community, people with disabilities, and elderly men and women,” Quilcué said.

Victims of Colombia’s armed conflict also attended the event, including representatives from Mafapo and Movice. Former President Ernesto Samper was present and called on liberal voters to support the Historic Pact ticket.

“I come here as a liberal former president to ask all liberals in Colombia to vote for Iván Cepeda and Aída Quilcué because we want peace, not war, and we want social programs to continue,” Samper said.

IN THIS ARTICLE