Colombia’s presidential campaign entered its decisive phase with an actor that long ago stopped being secondary in national politics: evangelical Christian churches.
Just days before the elections, different religious movements began officially endorsing right-wing and far-right candidates, confirming the influence these organizations have gained in strategic sectors of the Colombian electorate.
The phenomenon is not new, but it is becoming increasingly visible. What once appeared as discreet support from pulpits or internal religious congregation networks is now openly expressed through public events, political statements, and electoral agreements.
Parties linked to evangelical structures are seeking to consolidate themselves as machines capable of mobilizing hundreds of thousands of votes, especially in working-class neighborhoods and peripheral regions where churches exert daily influence over the social lives of thousands of families.
Related: Controversy in Colombia Over Alleged Misuse of Polls.
Christian churches gain influence in Colombia’s election endgame
One of the most significant political developments in recent days was the announcement by the MIRA party that it would support the presidential candidacy of Paloma Valencia. The party, which has representation in Congress and maintains a solid national organizational structure, is closely linked to the Church of God Ministry of Jesus Christ International, one of the country’s most powerful Christian congregations.
MIRA’s endorsement represents far more than a symbolic gesture. For years, the party has demonstrated an enormous capacity to discipline the vote of its religious base and translate that organization into concrete electoral results.
Its political machinery operates through a consolidated territorial structure, especially strong in working-class urban sectors, where churches function not only as places of worship but also as networks of social and political support for hundreds of thousands of people.
However, the endorsement exposed internal tensions within Valencia’s campaign. During the official announcement of the agreement, her vice presidential running mate, Juan Daniel Oviedo, who is openly gay, was absent.
In political circles, the absence was interpreted as a sign of the complex balancing act the Uribista candidacy is attempting to maintain: attracting support from moderate, liberal, and urban sectors without breaking with the conservative core that has historically backed the Colombian right.
The situation exposed a contradiction that was difficult to hide. While Oviedo represents an attempt to expand the electoral base toward younger and more centrist voters, much of the evangelical electorate maintains openly hostile positions toward sexual diversity agendas and LGBT rights.
The impossible-to-ignore silence surrounding that tension showed the extent to which campaigns prefer to avoid a direct confrontation with a religious sector that could prove decisive in a close election.
“It is an honor to announce to Colombia, to our supporters, and to our members that we have made the decision, after a patient, persevering, and careful process of analyzing the candidates, to endorse candidate Paloma Valencia and her running mate Juan Daniel Oviedo,” said Senator Manuel Virguez, a relative of church leader Maria Luisa Piraquive.
Con profunda alegría recibo el apoyo del @PartidoMIRA . Un partido que admiro y que ha trabajado incansablemente por Colombia. Mi compromiso es que trabajemos en equipo y logremos sacar a este país adelante. Vamos a elegir a la primera mujer presidente🇨🇴 pic.twitter.com/LOvoJx4cIy
— Paloma Valencia L (@PalomaValenciaL) May 19, 2026
At the same time, the Christian party Colombia Justa Libres announced its support for the candidacy of extremist Abelardo De la Espriella, consolidating another bloc of religious voting within the Colombian right.
The party, founded around conservative evangelical leadership, has built its political discourse on defending the traditional family, opposing abortion, and rejecting what they call “gender ideology,” meaning any interpretation of social life different from the traditional one.
Its leading figure, pastor and former senator John Milton Rodriguez, became one of the most visible organizers of the Christian vote in recent years and now appears aligned with De la Espriella’s candidacy.
The Barranquilla-born lawyer — who once publicly identified himself as an atheist — quickly understood the importance of this electorate. His recent discourse of religious conversion and his rapprochement with evangelical megachurches are part of a strategy aimed at connecting with a segment that combines moral conservatism, distrust of the left, and strong electoral discipline.
The influence of these groups can be explained by several factors. For decades, evangelical churches have grown rapidly in Colombia, especially in impoverished urban areas and communities with little state presence.
There, they filled spaces abandoned by the state: emotional support, solidarity networks, economic assistance, and a sense of belonging. That social rooting eventually became political capital as well.
En medio de la incertidumbre que hoy vive Colombia,cuando muchos intentan diluir las convicciones y confundir al país con discursos ambiguos, el Partido ColombiaJusta Libres ha tomado una decisión que nace de su esencia, de su historia y de su compromiso con la Nación.
Y aunque… pic.twitter.com/vhR7ykoprq— Ricardo Arias Mora (@RicardoAriasM) April 5, 2026
The power of the religious vote
The political weight of Christian churches was demonstrated forcefully during the 2016 peace agreement plebiscite. In that vote, evangelical sectors mobilized massively in favor of the “No” campaign, promoting narratives centered on the supposed threat the agreements posed to the family and traditional values.
The result surprised the country and confirmed that churches could decisively influence public opinion and electoral behavior with claims as unscientific as the alleged risk of turning their children homosexual if they voted for a peace agreement that, in addition to ending 50 years of armed political conflict, incorporated a gender perspective into its conclusions.
Since then, no political sector has wanted to underestimate the power of these organizations. In this regard, even the left has attempted outreach through dissident pastors, such as the controversial Alfredo Saade, who in 2022 was part of Gustavo Petro’s candidacy.
The reality is that candidates seek constant ties with influential pastors, participate in religious services, and adapt parts of their discourse to avoid clashing with the conservative sensitivities of these voters.
In many cases, the relationship between religion and politics goes beyond ideological coincidence. Ecclesiastical structures function as true electoral machines capable of directing the vote of entire communities. In working-class neighborhoods, small cities, and peripheral municipalities, the word of a pastor can carry more influence than that of a traditional political leader.
That social control is especially strong in sectors with low educational levels, economic hardship, and limited access to diverse information. There, churches become spaces of moral authority and political guidance, generating loyalties that later translate into electoral support.
The growing presence of these organizations in Colombian politics also reflects a deeper cultural transformation. Colombia remains a largely religious and conservative country across broad social sectors, despite the advance of progressive agendas in major cities. Presidential campaigns understand that ignoring the evangelical world could mean losing a decisive electoral base.
In the final stretch toward the polls, the endorsements from MIRA and Colombia Justa Libres confirmed that Christian churches no longer act solely as spiritual actors. Increasingly, they are political players capable of swaying elections, shaping discourse, and defining alliances within the Colombian right.