Efraín Cepeda officially launches his presidential candidacy for the Conservative Party: "I know how to beat Petro."

Former Senate President Efraín Cepeda announced his candidacy for the Colombian presidency on Saturday for the Conservative Party. He made the announcement at a public event in Ibagué, Tolima.

"In front of these beautiful people of Tolima, I am running for the presidency of the Republic," said Cepeda, who then emphasized the role he played as president of the Senate in issues such as the referendum and the resulting decree.

"Because I know how to beat Petro. The only one who has defeated Petro seven times is Efraín Cepeda, and with the help of you and this wonderful team, we will defeat him for the presidency of the Republic," said the man who also served as president of the Conservative board until mid-2024.

With Cepeda's arrival at the starting lineup, the Conservatives officially have a candidate to challenge the right-wing nomination. It's worth noting that there are talks within this ideological sector about presenting a single candidate to challenge Petrismo in the 2026 elections.

In his official nomination speech, the former Senate president emphasized that he had "defeated" President Gustavo Petro. During his time as head of Congress, Efraín Sarabia positioned himself as one of the government's main opponents.

The clash began when he told President Petro that he had enough votes to defeat the previous tax reform proposed by the Executive Branch. Although the president took it as a provocation, the senator always maintained that he knew the environment was not conducive to such a project, and that is what happened.

Later, when he presented the referendum to the Senate, Efraín Cepeda led the plenary session during the failed session. He was later one of those who took the lead in rejecting the attempt to enact the referendum by decree without Congressional approval.

Although speculation about Cepeda's possible candidacy had been rife for several weeks, as he had positioned himself on the national political radar as a counterweight to President Gustavo Petro, Saturday's announcement took even his own team by surprise.

"This launch wasn't planned for today, but rather for a little later. But, seeing so many people from Tolima here asking for it and wanting a conservative president, I pledge to you today that I will work to be the next president of Colombia," the senator declared on the platform.

Juan Sebastian Lombo Delgado