A candidacy born from the ground up, not handed down from above
En las horas previas al cierre de listas al Congreso, Juan Guillermo Zuluaga, exgobernador de Meta, anunció públicamente su respaldo a la candidatura presidencial de Abelardo de la Espriella, marcando una ruptura deliberada con el Centro Democrático. La decisión, comunicada en video a través de redes sociales, habla de algo más profundo que una simple adhesión electoral: refleja el movimiento de figuras con arraigo regional hacia una candidatura nacida fuera de las estructuras tradicionales del poder. En el ciclo preelectoral de 2026, Colombia observa cómo el mapa de alianzas se redibuja en tiempo real, y el peso simbólico de cada gesto político se multiplica.
- Zuluaga rechazó días antes un cupo en la lista al Senado del Centro Democrático, dejando claro que buscaba un nuevo horizonte político antes de anunciar su respaldo a De la Espriella.
- El anuncio llegó en el momento de mayor presión del calendario electoral, cuando cada endorsement funciona como señal de hacia dónde se desplaza el momentum real.
- Seguridad y descentralización regional fueron los dos ejes que Zuluaga invocó para justificar su elección, argumentando que De la Espriella era el candidato que verdaderamente escuchaba a los colombianos de a pie.
- Lo que sorprendió a Zuluaga no fue solo el programa, sino el fenómeno: una candidatura sin maquinaria ni red establecida que había generado fervor genuino desde las bases.
- El respaldo de una figura con credenciales regionales consolida a De la Espriella como destino político emergente, transformando su campaña de fenómeno marginal a opción con peso propio.
Juan Guillermo Zuluaga, exgobernador de Meta, publicó un video en sus redes sociales anunciando su apoyo a la candidatura presidencial de Abelardo de la Espriella. El momento no fue casual: el anuncio llegó pocas horas antes del cierre del plazo para que los candidatos finalizaran sus listas al Congreso, una ventana en la que cada movimiento político adquiere un significado amplificado.
La decisión representó una ruptura nítida con su entorno anterior. Días antes, Zuluaga había declinado un lugar en la lista al Senado del Centro Democrático, señal de que buscaba un nuevo espacio político. En el video explicó los dos criterios que orientaron su elección: la seguridad —convencido de que Colombia no puede seguir tolerando que organizaciones criminales ejerzan control efectivo sobre territorios y ciudadanos— y la autonomía regional, entendida no como consigna sino como transformación real que devuelva a las regiones capacidad de decidir su propio rumbo sin depender de Bogotá.
Zuluaga contó haber conversado con varios candidatos antes de inclinarse por De la Espriella. Lo que lo convenció fue encontrar en él a alguien que realmente escuchaba. Y lo que lo sorprendió fue la naturaleza misma de la campaña: sin experiencia electoral previa, sin maquinaria ni redes partidistas, De la Espriella había logrado despertar un entusiasmo genuino construido desde abajo.
En el contexto del ciclo electoral de 2026, el respaldo de Zuluaga encaja en un patrón más amplio de recomposición de alianzas de último momento. Que una figura con peso regional haya elegido esta candidatura sugiere que lo que comenzó como un fenómeno periférico está convirtiéndose en una opción política con gravitación propia.
Juan Guillermo Zuluaga, who once governed Meta, posted a video to his social media accounts announcing he was backing Abelardo de la Espriella's bid for the presidency. The timing was deliberate—the announcement came just hours before the deadline for candidates to finalize their congressional slates, a moment when every endorsement carries weight and signals where political operators believe momentum is building.
Zuluaga's move represented a clean break from his previous orbit. Days earlier, he had turned down a spot on the Democratic Center's Senate list, a decision that suggested he was shopping for a different political home. Now he had found one, and he was making it public in a way that could not be mistaken for anything other than a full commitment.
In the video, Zuluaga laid out two pillars that he said had guided his choice. The first was security. Colombia, he argued, could not continue operating under conditions where criminal organizations held effective power over territory and citizens. The second was regional autonomy—the idea that decentralization should not remain a slogan but should become a lived reality, that regions should have genuine agency in shaping their own futures rather than waiting for directives from Bogotá.
He had, he explained, spoken with multiple presidential candidates before settling on de la Espriella. What struck him was that de la Espriella seemed to be the one actually hearing what ordinary Colombians were saying. More than that, Zuluaga found himself genuinely surprised by the character of de la Espriella's campaign. Here was someone with no track record in electoral politics, no machine, no established network—and yet the candidacy had generated real fervor. It was grassroots in origin, bubbling up from citizens rather than being constructed from the top down by party operatives.
The endorsement fit into a larger pattern of late-stage coalition shifts as Colombia's 2026 election cycle accelerated. With the congressional list deadline looming, politicians were making final calculations about where to place their bets. Zuluaga's decision to join de la Espriella suggested that at least some established figures saw something worth backing in a candidacy that had emerged outside traditional power structures. Whether that would translate into electoral strength remained to be seen, but the movement of someone with Zuluaga's regional credentials signaled that de la Espriella's campaign was no longer a fringe phenomenon—it was becoming a destination for politicians looking to position themselves on the side of change.
Notable Quotes
The country cannot continue in the hands of criminals, and regions must be protagonists of their own future— Juan Guillermo Zuluaga, in his endorsement video
De la Espriella is the person who truly hears what Colombian citizens are saying— Juan Guillermo Zuluaga, explaining his choice
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did Zuluaga wait until the last moment to announce this? Why not earlier?
The timing tells you something about how Colombian politics works. The congressional list deadline creates a natural pressure point—everyone has to decide where they stand. Zuluaga was probably testing the waters, talking to different camps, and only when he was certain about de la Espriella did he move.
He rejected the Democratic Center's offer just days before. Was that a rejection of them, or a rejection of that particular seat?
It reads like both. If he'd wanted to stay in that orbit, he would have taken the Senate spot. The fact that he turned it down and then immediately went public for de la Espriella suggests he'd already made up his mind about where his politics actually pointed.
De la Espriella has never held office. Why would an experienced governor like Zuluaga back someone with no political track record?
That's exactly what surprised Zuluaga himself, by his own account. He's saying the grassroots energy around de la Espriella felt authentic in a way that traditional campaigns don't. Sometimes politicians get tired of the machinery and respond to something that feels like it's coming from actual people rather than party structures.
Security and regional autonomy—those are the two things Zuluaga emphasized. Are those de la Espriella's main platform planks?
They're what Zuluaga heard when he listened to de la Espriella. Whether they're the campaign's official priorities or Zuluaga's personal reading of what matters most, I can't say. But those are the issues that moved him to make this public bet.
What does this say about the Democratic Center's position heading into 2026?
It suggests they're losing people. Zuluaga was a regional figure with credibility. If he's walking away to back an outsider, it means the traditional center-right coalition isn't holding as tightly as it once did.