Roy Leonardo Barreras Montealegre (born 27 November 1963) is a Colombian politician and 2018 presidential candidate, currently serving as

senator 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 e ...

since 2010 and President of the Senate of Colombia since 2022. In addition to senator, Barreras served as chairman of former governing party, the

Union Party for the People The Union Party for the People ( es, Partido de la Unión por la Gente), or Party of the U ( es, Partido de la U), is a liberal political party in Colombia. The Party is led by former president Juan Manuel Santos. It was formerly Colombia's la ...

. He entered politics in 2006 when he was elected as a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

Early life

Roy Barreras was born into a humble family in

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the secon ...

, Colombia. His grandparents were from Spain, and fled to Colombia during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

. His mother was from the countryside, her own family displaced during the

Colombian conflict The Colombian conflict ( es, link=no, Conflicto armado interno de Colombia) began on May 27, 1964, and is a low-intensity asymmetric war between the government of Colombia, far-right paramilitary groups, crime syndicates, and far-left guerri ...

, and his father a medical doctor who was forced to travel far from home for extended periods as part of his profession. Barreras struggled during his childhood with bullying from his classmates, working odd jobs including as a taxi driver and an assistant in a bakery. He eventually followed in his father's footsteps and became a medical doctor, working for more than two decades in various parts of Colombia.

Political career

Barreras was elected to congress for the first time in 2006, and has succeeded in each of his re-election campaigns since. In 2011, he was elected to head the congressional Peace Commission, and has been a strong proponent of the

Colombian peace process The Colombian peace process is the peace process between the Colombian government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC–EP) to bring an end to the Colombian conflict, which eventually led t ...

. On 14 June 2017, Senator Barreras officially began his 2018 presidential campaign with a letter to constituents that was published in La

Semana ''Semana'' (Spanish: ''Week'') is a weekly magazine in Colombia. History ''Semana'' was founded in 1946 by Alberto Lleras Camargo (who would become president of Colombia in 1958) and that folded in 1961. It was relaunched by journalist Felipe ...

. Barreras was a supporter of former Colombian President

Juan Manuel Santos Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (; born 10 August 1951) is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. An economist by profession and a journalist by trade, ...

, also of the Partido de la U. Senator Barreras is considered a centrist, and his policy positions reflect his complicated upbringing. His reputation as a politician that is tough on crime has endeared him to conservatives (right wing), including tougher sentences for child abusers and stronger laws against

drunk driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is ...

. He also has the support of liberals (left wing) for his advocacy for

LGBT parenting LGBT parenting refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people raising one or more children as parents or foster care parents. This includes: children raised by same-sex couples (same-sex parenting), children raised by single LGBT ...

and the rights of

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term i ...

parents to adopt children in Colombia. However, it is Senator Barreras' ardent support for

and Colombian President

that have been his defining attributes as both a senator and presidential candidate. Barreras has accused those who oppose the

peace process A peace process is the set of sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict. Definitions Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of an intra-state or in ...

of being populists whose rhetoric could do lasting damage to peace in the country. Barreras lost in the first round of the 2018 presidential elections that eventually saw Ivan Duque of the

Centro Democratico Democratic Centre ( it, Centro Democratico, CD) is a centrist, Christian leftist and social-liberal political party in Italy. Most of its members, including its leader Bruno Tabacci, are former Christian Democrats. Since its beginnings, t ...

party elected to the presidency.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barreras, Roy 1963 births Living people People from Cali Members of the Senate of Colombia University of Valle alumni National University of Colombia alumni Colombian taxi drivers Colombian people of Spanish descent Social Party of National Unity politicians Presidents of the Senate of Colombia