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Iván Cepeda Castro (born October 24, 1962) is a
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
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. The eldest son of the late left-wing politician Manuel Cepeda Vargas, Cepeda has served 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 ...
since 2014 for the
Alternative Democratic Pole The Alternative Democratic Pole ( Spanish: ''Polo Democrático Alternativo'' or PDA) is a left-wing, democratic socialist and camilist political party in Colombia, active from 2005 to the present. In 2022 it was successful at the polls and fo ...
. He previously served in the Chamber of Representatives from 2010 and 2014. Cepeda 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, thereby ...
, and during his early years lived in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. Following the
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The ...
, Cepeda's family would seek refuge in
Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. 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 is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
, where he studied philosophy at
Sofia University Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" () is a public university, public research university in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Bulgaria. Founded on 1 October 1888, the edifice of the university was constr ...
. 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. The post-''perestroika'' analysis of the system of the Soviet econom ...
, 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 democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
, 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 (, 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. The party is led by Jaime Caycedo and publi ...
, 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 armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
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 a postgraduate 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 prac ...
in human rights from the
University of Lyon The University of Lyon ( , or UdL) is a university system ( ''ComUE'') based in Lyon, France. It comprises 12 members and 9 associated institutions. The 3 main constituent universities in this center are: Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, which f ...
. 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
Alternative Democratic Pole The Alternative Democratic Pole ( Spanish: ''Polo Democrático Alternativo'' or PDA) is a left-wing, democratic socialist and camilist political party in Colombia, active from 2005 to the present. In 2022 it was successful at the polls and fo ...
. In 2014, Cepeda chose to run for
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 ...
, receiving a total of 84,126 votes and getting elected. Cepeda would be reelected in 2018, winning 77,842 votes that cycle. Cepeda was reelected in 2022.


References

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