A man who spent seven years as a captive of guerrilla group the FARC is running for mayor of Cali, Colombia media reported Wednesday.
Former Deputy of Valle del Cauca Sigifredo Lopez, who in 2002 was kidnapped along with 11 other deputies, will run as the Liberal Party candidate in the mayoral election in October 2011.
“[My] main concern is to restore the security to the Caleños (residents of Cali), that the Caleños return to live without fear will be the main objective of my campaign,” Lopez said.
The leader of the Liberal Party expressed confidence in their candidate. “Sigifredo is one of our best leaders, a man who has a lot to do and a lot to say from politics and from the work for peace and for the victims of Colombia,” said party leader Rafael Pardo.
The candidate is no stranger to Cali. Lopez was born in Valle de Cauca, the department that holds Cali. He received his administrative law degree, a masters in criminal rights and criminology, and taught as a professor at the University of Santiago de Cali.
This is not Lopez’s first attempt at elected office. In 2010, he lost his campaign for the Senate.
Lopez was released by the FARC in 2009 after seven difficult years. He was the sole survivor of a groups of 12 captured deputies.
