Philosopher, senator, exile: social reformer Cepeda seeks Colombia's presidency

BOGOTA, June 18 - Leftist senator and activist Ivan Cepeda, whose youth was marked by exile and the political assassination of his father, is vying for Colombia's presidency with a promise to keep the country on its progressive path by deepening his predecessor's economic and social reforms.

Cepeda, 63, led polls leading up to the first round vote in late May. He finished second to right-wing Abelardo De La Espriella, now the favorite to win Sunday's vote.

The candidates have starkly different visions for Colombia's future. Cepeda vows to carry forward and expand on economic and social reforms pushed by President Gustavo Petro, the country's first leftist president and a former guerrilla. De La Espriella pledges to crack down on crime and loosen regulations for industry.

Investors, conservatives and the business community favor De La Espriella whereas coastal and Amazonian regions, as well as the traditional left and voters in Bogota, backed Cepeda. He has said the country's deep-rooted inequality requires an agenda he calls "social capitalism," with a focus on reducing poverty.

His proposals include raising taxes on the wealthiest Colombians, allowing community organizations to access state contracts, granting 1 million hectares of land to victims of conflict and expanding income for the poor and elderly.

"It is a program that proposes social reforms that I want not only to be deepened and consolidated, but also to be radicalized in some cases," Cepeda said in an interview with Reuters last week.

Cepeda participated as a facilitator at talks which led to a 2016 peace agreement between the government and the former FARC guerrillas. He has promised to continue Petro's controversial efforts to achieve peace with illegal armed groups that have waged war against the state for decades.

Since the first round, Cepeda has softened some of his stances, stating he wants political consensus for reforms and tabling plans to push for a new constitution.

"I am a democrat, I am going to run a government strictly adhering to the Constitution and the law," Cepeda said.

Cepeda, who studied philosophy, law and political science in Bulgaria, France and Colombia, gained political prominence after former President Alvaro Uribe was sentenced to 12 years' house arrest for fraud and bribery in a case that classified Cepeda as one of several victims.

From his youth, the candidate has belonged to left-wing political parties. Both his parents were communist leaders, and the family lived through two periods of political exile in Havana and the former Czechoslovakia.

His father, Manuel Cepeda, was gunned down in 1994 in Bogota while riding in his car. The younger Cepeda said he was on his way to university when he spotted his father's body from the window of a bus that happened to pass the scene of what he initially believed was a traffic accident.

In 2010, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found the Colombian state responsible for Manuel Cepeda's murder, carried out by the military and paramilitary forces.

Cepeda is married to Pilar Rueda, who recently resigned her position as an advisor to the special court set up to investigate and prosecute human rights violations related to Colombia's ongoing conflict.

Cepeda's political opponents have accused him of having close ties with former FARC leaders. He has denied those allegations.

The latest polls have Cepeda trailing in Sunday's race with 44.8% to De La Espriella's 52.6%. REUTERS