The mandate is clear: no country built on class hatred
En Colombia, la senadora Paloma Valencia emerge como la candidata unificada de la derecha tras imponerse con claridad en una consulta interna que convocó a más de cinco millones de votantes. Su victoria, alcanzada en el Día Internacional de la Mujer, no es solo un resultado electoral: es el reflejo de una oposición que busca recomponer su fuerza frente al gobierno de Gustavo Petro antes de las elecciones de mayo. En la historia larga de las democracias latinoamericanas, este momento recuerda que las coaliciones fragmentadas pueden, bajo la presión suficiente, encontrar una voz común.
- Valencia arrasó con el 55.2% de los votos, dejando a sus ocho rivales sin espacio para disputar el liderazgo de la oposición.
- La participación de más de cinco millones de votantes revela una movilización de la derecha colombiana que no puede ser ignorada por el gobierno de Petro.
- El surgimiento de Juan Daniel Oviedo como segundo lugar —superando pronósticos— introduce una figura independiente que podría complicar la consolidación del voto opositor.
- Valencia lanzó su campaña general con un discurso de confrontación ideológica directa, rechazando lo que llamó comunismo obsoleto e intervención estatal destructiva.
- El calendario electoral presiona: si ningún candidato obtiene mayoría absoluta el 31 de mayo, la contienda se definirá en una segunda vuelta el 21 de junio.
Paloma Valencia llegó a la consulta interna de la coalición de derecha colombiana como favorita y la abandonó como candidata presidencial indiscutida. La senadora del Centro Democrático obtuvo 3,078,528 votos —el 55.2 por ciento del total— en una primaria que sus organizadores denominaron «La Gran Consulta por Colombia», concebida para unir a una oposición fragmentada frente al gobierno de Gustavo Petro. La ventaja sobre el segundo lugar, el independiente Juan Daniel Oviedo, superó los 1.8 millones de votos.
Oviedo, proyectado inicialmente en tercer lugar, terminó con el 21.5 por ciento, mientras que el exsenador Juan Manuel Galán quedó tercero con el 5.5 por ciento. La participación total —más de cinco millones de votantes— habló por sí sola: la derecha colombiana está movilizada y decidida a disputar el rumbo del país.
Valencia es abogada egresada de la Universidad de los Andes y cursa su tercer mandato legislativo. Su trayectoria política ha estado estrechamente ligada al expresidente Álvaro Uribe. La noche del domingo, en el Día Internacional de la Mujer, habló ante sus seguidores con un tono de mandato: rechazó lo que describió como odio de clases, retórica comunista y una intervención estatal que, según ella, ha dañado al país. Prometió una «economía fraternal» y se comprometió a revertir el legado de lo que llamó el mal gobierno actual.
Con el respaldo unificado de la coalición opositora, Valencia enfrenta ahora el desafío real: ampliar su atractivo más allá del electorado de la consulta y convencer a los votantes indecisos de que su visión ofrece una alternativa creíble. Si el 31 de mayo ningún candidato alcanza la mayoría absoluta, la decisión final llegará en una segunda vuelta el 21 de junio.
Paloma Valencia walked into Sunday's primary election as the frontrunner of Colombia's right-wing coalition, and she left it as their undisputed presidential nominee. The senator from the Democratic Center party secured 3,078,528 votes—55.2 percent of the total cast—in what organizers called "The Great Consultation for Colombia," a primary designed to unite the fractured opposition against President Gustavo Petro's government. With 95 percent of polling stations counted, the margin was decisive: Valencia defeated independent Juan Daniel Oviedo by more than 1.8 million ballots.
Oviedo, who had been projected to finish third in early polling, emerged as the second-place finisher with 1,199,145 votes, or 21.5 percent. Former senator Juan Manuel Galán of the New Liberalism party came in third with 311,605 votes, representing 5.5 percent of the total. Nine candidates competed in the primary, each representing different factions within the opposition coalition. The turnout itself—more than five million voters—suggested robust mobilization among right-wing voters eager to mount a challenge to Petro's leftist administration.
Valencia, a lawyer educated at the University of the Andes, is now in her third term in Colombia's legislature. Her political career has been closely aligned with former president Álvaro Uribe, a defining feature of her public identity. On Sunday evening, as she addressed supporters on International Women's Day, she framed her victory as a mandate against what she called the government's failures. "The mandate of this consultation is clear," she said, invoking the five million-plus votes cast across all candidates. She rejected what she characterized as class hatred, outdated communist rhetoric, and destructive state intervention—language that positioned her campaign as a direct ideological counter to Petro's policies.
Valencia promised a "fraternal economy" for Colombia and pledged that no citizen, elderly person, or child would be left behind under her administration. She also promised to reverse what she described as the "disastrous legacy of misgovernment" from the current presidency. The primary victory gives her the unified backing of the right-wing coalition heading into the general election scheduled for May 31.
Colombia's electoral calendar now moves toward that May 31 vote. If no candidate wins an outright majority—defined as more than half of all valid votes cast—the top two finishers will advance to a runoff on June 21. Valencia enters the general election as the consolidated opposition candidate, a significant advantage in a fragmented political landscape. Her path to the presidency now depends on whether she can expand her coalition's appeal beyond the primary electorate and persuade swing voters that her vision for the country offers a credible alternative to Petro's direction.
Citações Notáveis
The mandate of the consultation is clear—more than five million votes are in this scenario. The mandate does not want a country steeped in class hatred, does not want a country trapped in anachronistic communist debates, and does not want a country destroyed by statism.— Paloma Valencia, in her victory speech
It is our moment to govern, to demonstrate that we do things well.— Paloma Valencia
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
What made Valencia's margin so decisive? Was this a coronation or a genuine contest?
It was both. She won decisively—1.8 million votes is not close—but Oviedo's second-place finish surprised people. The primary itself was the real contest. Nine candidates competed, and that fragmentation meant Valencia's 55 percent was enough to consolidate the entire right-wing coalition behind her name.
Why does the primary matter so much if she was already the frontrunner?
Because the right in Colombia was divided. Without this primary, you'd have multiple candidates splitting the opposition vote in May. Now there's one. That unity is worth millions of votes in a general election.
She kept invoking Petro's failures. Is that her entire campaign?
It's the opening move. She's defining herself against him—against what she calls class hatred and state overreach. But she also promised something affirmative: a fraternal economy, nobody left behind. Whether that resonates beyond her base is the real question.
What happens if she doesn't win outright in May?
A runoff in June against whoever finishes second. That's when the campaign really tightens. A two-person race is different from a nine-person primary. Oviedo, if he makes it through, would be a very different opponent than the fragmented field she just beat.