Former Bogota Mayor Claudia Lopez has officially announced her intention to run in Colombia’s 2026 presidential elections. This confirms her long-anticipated presidential ambitions, following her historic 2019 election as the first woman to lead the Colombian capital.
Lopez supported current President Gustavo Petro during his 2022 campaign but gradually distanced herself from him over the course of his term. In 2023, while still serving as mayor, the two clashed over Bogota’s elevated metro project.
Lopez’s decision to run for president has coincided with a split from her original political party, the Green Alliance (Alianza Verde). In May 2024, she announced her resignation from the party, arguing that “the Green Party ended up co-opted and controlled by a pro-Petro minority that neither represents nor honors the values, practices, and principles I have defended and practiced throughout my life.”
Claudia Lopez, ex-Bogota mayor, formalizes Presidential candidacy in Colombia
This Tuesday morning, June 3, former Bogota Mayor Claudia Lopez—who held office until December 2023—confirmed her candidacy for next year’s Colombian presidential election.
In a video posted on social media, Lopez made her first statements as a presidential candidate after officially registering her bid:
“We are here, beginning a new day. Full of optimism. Colombia will emerge from this bitter moment too. We won’t remain trapped between fear and disappointment over the change that could have been but unfortunately wasn’t. United as citizens, as Colombians above our differences.”
The former Bogota mayor joins the list of pre-candidates formalizing their bids in what appears to be an open election following the first left-wing government in Colombian history, led by Gustavo Petro.
For now, Lopez needs a minimum number of citizen endorsements to qualify for the election, as she intends to run as an independent candidate without support from major parties.
Lopez distances herself from President Petro
In her message, the presidential candidate took the opportunity to distance herself from President Gustavo Petro, whom she publicly endorsed three years ago.
Lopez criticized issues like deteriorating security and setbacks in the healthcare system, which she attributed directly to the current administration:
“That mixed [public-private] healthcare system we had, saved us during the pandemic—it saved our lives, healed us, vaccinated us, and pulled us through. And what did they do? Destroy it. Today we painfully witness long lines, people dying because they don’t receive timely treatment, or having to pay for medications out-of-pocket again. We will restore healthcare, and we will restore security.”
Despite rising insecurity in Bogota during her own mayoral term, Lopez has been highly critical of President Gustavo Petro’s Total Peace policy, which she directly links to increased insecurity nationwide.
“The era of granting impunity to criminals while Colombians suffer is over,” Lopez stated in her message, adding that she aims to gather approximately 1.5 million signatures to endorse her independent candidacy for the 2026 presidential election.
Hoy en la @Registraduria empezamos #ConClaudiaImparables un año en el que trabajaremos fuertemente. 💪https://t.co/7I2kdI36LY pic.twitter.com/WaAYOvw4lT
— Claudia López Hernández (@ClaudiaLopez) June 3, 2025
Who is Claudia Lopez?
Claudia Lopez (55 years old) is a center-left politician who, until last year, was one of the most visible leaders of the Green Alliance party. In October 2019, she became the first woman elected mayor of Bogota.
For years, she cultivated a progressive political profile. While distinct from traditional left-wing parties and affirming her identity as a woman and a homosexual, she secured majority support from Bogota’s citizens in the 2019 local elections, where she faced no significant rival.
During her term as Bogota’s mayor (2020-2023), Lopez implemented notable policies such as the “Care Blocks” (Manzanas del Cuidado), aimed at supporting women engaged in unpaid domestic work.
However, her most prominent and controversial project was confirming the construction of an elevated metro in Bogota. This decision distanced her from President Gustavo Petro, who consistently advocated for an underground route—a plan he himself had proposed during his 2013 term as the capital’s mayor.
In 2020, during the toughest months of the pandemic, Claudia Lopez demonstrated strong leadership that earned her approval not only in Bogota but across much of Colombia.
Following her term, Lopez moved to the United States to pursue studies at Harvard University, though she has maintained a certain presence in Colombian current affairs.