Before becoming Federico Gutiérrez's vice-presidential formula, Rodrigo Lara Sánchez gave propaganda to Fajardo

In an event from the San Javier station of the Medellín Metro, presidential candidate Federico Gutiérrez announced this Saturday, March 26, about the name of his vice-presidential formula. This is Rodrigo Lara Sánchez, the eldest son of Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, who was President Belisario Betancur's Minister of Justice at the time of his assassination. Lara Sánchez is a surgeon with a specialization in General Surgery and was mayor of Neiva in the same period when 'Fico' was mayor of the capital of Antioquia.

Although the mystery was finally blurred, since he was the last candidate to reveal who his teammate would be, the name left different parties and movements with many doubts and flavors, since they would never imagine that the former mayor of Medellín would go to put a member of the Green Party in that position and even more so if the new formula had left before clear his support for Sergio Fajardo.

Let's remember that the support that Lara Sánchez had given had not been long ago, because from her personal Twitter account she said on February 7, 2022: “15 years ago I met @sergio_fajardo I had been mayor of Medellín and recognized by @colombia_lider as the best mayor of Colombia. Then he was the best governor in the country. I have never seen an act of corruption in his political life, and I firmly believe in his ability to govern”, in addition, he accompanied him with a photo where both of them are seen, this because for a long time Gutiérrez's current vice-presidential formula recognized the current candidate of Coalition Centro Esperanza as his mentor.

On the other hand, it left voters very confused because in addition to the fact that just a month and a half ago he applauded Fajardo's candidacy, being of the Green Party he showed that this political movement is more divided than previously thought. Initially, some members split because some supported the Centro Esperanza Coalition and others favored the Historical Pact, but now with this candidacy it remains in the imagination that there are three clear tendencies in the party that erase the independence that the Greens had shown for years.

However, it should be clarified that so far the Green Party has not come out to give statements clarifying the situation or talking about what will happen to its collective once the presidential elections pass. The movement announced freedom of votes in the first round.

Let us remember that Rodrigo Lara Sánchez is a graduate of a public school and a surgeon with a specialization in General Surgery from the University of Cauca, also public. He dedicated much of his life to medical service in hospitals in Bogotá and Neiva.

Lara Sánchez's foray into political life is rather recent. In 2010 he tried to reach the Senate through the Citizen Commitment list, the same movement led by Sergio Fajardo, the candidate of the Center Hope Coalition. It had the ninth highest vote, but the significant group of citizens did not exceed the threshold to win seats.

During Antanas Mockus' presidential campaign in 2010, Rodrigo Lara Sánchez joined the Green Party and coordinated the campaign in Huila. Then, in 2016, he became the mayor of Neiva in the same period that Fico was mayor of the Antioquia capital (2016-2019), with the sympathy of characters such as Antonio Navarro Wolff, Enrique Peñalosa and Mockus himself.

KEEP READING