Iván Cepeda Castro (born October 24, 1962) is a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

Colombian politician,

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

, and philosopher. He served as a member of the Chamber of Representatives from 2010 and 2014, and currently serves as a member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

as a member of the

Alternative Democratic Pole The Alternative Democratic Pole (Spanish: ''Polo Democrático Alternativo'' or PDA) is a left-wing political party in Colombia. It was founded as a political alliance of the Independent Democratic Pole (PDI) and the Democratic Alternative (AD) ...

. He is the official spokesperson for the ''Movement of Victims of State Crimes'' (MOVICE), an organization born in 2003 to bring together the families of victims of crimes against humanity and organizations that work for human rights.

Early life and career

Born in Bogota, Cepeda is the eldest son of left-wing activists Manuel Cepeda Vargas and Yira Castro. In 1965 at the age of 3, Cepeda and his family were forced into exile due to

political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereb ...

, and during his early years lived in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. Following the

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...

, Cepeda's family would seek refuge in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. Cepeda's family would later return to Colombia in 1970, but remained a target of political violence. On August 9, 1994, his father was murdered on the streets of Bogota by a paramilitary group. At age 19, Cepeda migrated to

Sofia, Bulgaria Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, where he studied philosophy at

Sofia University Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...

. Cepeda returned to Colombia in 1987 as a critic of the

Soviet model Soviet-type economic planning (STP) is the specific model of centralized planning employed by Marxist–Leninist socialist states modeled on the economy of the Soviet Union (USSR). The post-''perestroika'' analysis of the system of the Soviet e ...

, which he considered

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...

, and became involved in the presidential campaign of

Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa (born September 2, 1956 in Manizales, Caldas, died in Bogotá, Cundinamarca on March 22, 1990) was a Colombian politician and member of the Colombian Communist Party. Jaramillo started working primarily in the Urabá ...

. Jaramillo Ossa would later be assassinated in 1990. Cepeda would later distance himself from the

Colombian Communist Party The Colombian Communist Party ( es, Partido Comunista Colombiano, PCC) is a legal communist party in Colombia. It was founded in 1930 as the Communist Party of Colombia, at which point it was the Colombian section of the Comintern, and changed i ...

, a party he was active in during his adolescence, and in 1990 would join the M-19 Alliance party. Following his father's assassination, he created the Manuel Cepeda Foundation together with his wife, Claudia Girón, to identify the perpetrator of crime. Cepeda would later found the National Movement for Victims, made up of 17 organizations that sought justice for crimes that occurred during the

armed conflict War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

in the 1980s and 1990s. This led to increased violent threats against Cepeda, leading him to go into exile in France in 2000. While in France, he received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in human rights from the

University of Lyon The University of Lyon (french: Université de Lyon), located in Lyon and Saint-Étienne, France, is a center for higher education and research comprising 11 members and 24 associated institutions. The three main universities in this center are: ...

. He would later return to Colombia in 2003 to resume his work advocating for victims of state and paramilitary violence in Colombia.

Political career

In 2009, Cepeda formally entered the realm of electoral politics, standing for the Chamber of Representatives in the 2010 legislative elections. He received over 35,000 votes and was elected to the body as a member of the socialist

. In 2014, Cepeda chose to run for

, receiving a total of 84,126 votes and getting elected. Cepeda would be reelected in 2018, winning 77,842 votes that cycle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cepeda, Iván 1962 births Living people Colombian politicians Colombian socialists Colombian human rights activists Alternative Democratic Pole politicians