In Colombia’s turbulent and polarized political landscape, the struggle for the ideological center appears to be at the heart of the clash between the left and the right in recent hours. Despite formal negotiations between former president Cesar Gaviria, director of the Liberal Party, and right-wing groups for next year’s presidential elections, left-wing pre-candidate Ivan Cepeda announced the support of a “representative” sector of liberalism that has reportedly joined his presidential campaign.
More than a symbolic gesture, this move marks the concrete beginning of what Cepeda has described as a “Broad Front,” an alliance that, in his view, should transcend traditional boundaries between the left, the center, and democratic liberalism. The goal is to form an electoral coalition around a single candidate, to be chosen in March 2026, capable of uniting the left and the political center.
On the other side, a more divided right than ever is seeking exactly the same thing and is trying to form an alliance with a political center that, beyond Sergio Fajardo, lacks a clear leader just months before the elections and currently seems destined to succumb to the intense political polarization that Colombia is experiencing between left and right.
Fight for Colombia’s political center: Cepeda announces backing from a ‘representative segment’ of Liberalism
Although it is not new — this already happened during the campaign that brought Gustavo Petro to the presidency in 2022 — the complete rupture within the Liberal Party exemplifies the limited prospects that the political center seems to have today in Colombia as the 2026 presidential elections become a referendum on the current government.
The Liberal Party — one of Colombia’s two historic parties — remains divided into two factions regarding the left-wing governments of change, beyond the current president, Petro. On one side is the leadership of former president Cesar Gaviria (1991–1994), who has stated — as he did in 2022 — his desire to forge alliances with the right to consolidate a candidacy opposed to the left in the 2026 presidential race.
Gaviria has insisted on liberalism’s independence from petrismo and has publicly rejected any coalition with Gustavo Petro, a stance that discomforts the party’s grassroots, traditionally far more progressive than its leadership.
In this context, a group of liberals has defied the party’s official line by deciding to support Cepeda. For these dissidents, liberalism cannot be limited to a conservative or pragmatic project: It must aspire to a broader, progressive, and convergent platform that allows for deep social reforms.
This internal clash is not new, but the endorsement of the left-wing candidate formalizes what many had seen merely as marginal motivations.
In fact, Ivan Cepeda himself, the left-wing presidential pre-candidate seeking a Broad Front for next March, announced the endorsement of these rebellious liberals. “Today I receive the valuable support of a very representative sector of liberalism. I consider this a concrete demonstration that the process of building the Broad Front has already begun,” the pre-candidate emphasized.
CON ALEGRÍA RECIBO HOY EL RESPALDO DE UN SECTOR LIBERAL A MI CANDIDATURA PRESIDENCIAL pic.twitter.com/JTrmcHCK08
— Iván Cepeda Castro (@IvanCepedaCast) November 17, 2025
Cepeda and his bid for an expanded center to win in 2026
For Ivan Cepeda, this liberal support is much more than a vote: It is the cornerstone of his strategy to consolidate a more robust and diverse electoral bloc. In his speech, he celebrated the endorsement as a “concrete demonstration” of the emergence of the Broad Front, stating that his project will seek not only the traditional left but also centrist forces and democratic liberalism.
This emerging coalition is not a spontaneous invention. Just weeks ago, Cepeda had already announced the integration of multiple political organizations (such as Roy Barreras’s La Fuerza, MAIS, the Colombian Democrat, and other labor movements) into his platform for 2026.
With these endorsements, his campaign aspires to bring coherence to a narrative that combines social justice with political openness, avoiding being trapped within the traditional edges of the spectrum. Cepeda knows that without the support of the political center, he will not be able to give continuity to the progressive government initiated by Petro in 2022.
While the right is likewise trying to attract liberals — and with them the majority of Colombia’s political center — the ranks of the Party led by Cesar Gaviria are negotiating with Cepeda.
What emerges from these moves is not just a political alliance, but a battle for the soul of the Colombian center. For decades, that space has been key to moderating polarization; however, today it appears weakened. The right is striving to unify its ranks — Gaviria has explored alliances with conservative and right-wing leaders for months to present a strong candidacy. Meanwhile, Cepeda aims to consolidate a progressive center where liberalism plays a fundamental role.
Cepeda’s announcement reaffirms that the center still does not have a clear candidate, beyond Sergio Fajardo — an independent — who is struggling to carve out space amid the noise of political polarization. Meanwhile, traditional liberals are divided between maintaining their identity by aligning with a right wing they fought for decades or embarking on a bolder move toward the left.
That uncertainty opens a window for Cepeda, who, without fitting into leftist orthodoxy, presents himself as a bridge for those who have lost faith in the conventional center.