The Colombian singer Shakira has sent a short written message to several media outlets in which she states that she does not support any political campaign in her country. “The images circulating of me supporting presidential candidates are false,” she says. Just hours earlier, supporters of the left-wing candidate, Iván Cepeda, shared on social media a montage in which the artist appears alongside the candidate and his vice-presidential running mate, Aida Quilcué. That support never happened. “I do not endorse any candidate, nor have I authorized the use of my image in any campaign,” Shakira’s statement adds. “My commitment is to Colombia, to its democracy, and to the right of every Colombian to choose freely. My wish is that these elections proceed with transparency and in an atmosphere of peace for all Colombians,” it concludes.
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Shakira denied any support for the campaign of Iván Cepeda and Aída Quilcué after the dissemination of a photomontage on social media.
“The images circulating of me supporting presidential candidates are false,” the artist assured the ABC newspaper. pic.twitter.com/pjrpUlAqZR
— Laura Rojas (@SoyRojasLaura) June 5, 2026
The photo was not produced by Cepeda’s official campaign, but by his followers on social media, where there are not only many young people but also groups that know the art of going viral: such as K-Popers, fans of Korean pop, who this week reinforced their support for the left-wing campaign. In this case, the photo was shared by an account that identified itself as part of the ‘Wolfpack of the Historical Pact’. That is, with the group of She-Wolves (Wolf, the animal with which Shakira identifies) that supports the left-wing party. After Shakira’s message, the account deleted the tweet.
Shakira does not usually make statements in electoral campaigns, and this is no exception. In social policy, she is rather known in Colombia for promoting the construction and management of schools for the most vulnerable children, driven through her foundation Pies Descalzos, the name of her first successful album in Latin America. Her only political pronouncements have been about this educational interest, as in 2018, when she criticized the new government of Iván Duque for intending to cut the education budget. “This is unacceptable, it shows that instead of moving forward, we are going backward,” she said then. “We must invest more in education and we have to build more schools where there are none,” she added.
Shakira’s statement against the use of her image in the campaign comes at a moment of high political tension in Colombia, in a context where the two leading candidates are disputing national symbols, especially the yellow soccer jersey. First, it was Abelardo de la Espriella, on the far right, who mobilized his followers to wear the jersey at his events. The left initially rejected this use of the national symbol for political purposes, but now also seeks to appropriate the yellow color of the garment, which both candidate Cepeda and President Gustavo Petro wear. De la Espriella has refused to stop using it, even after a judge ordered him to stop using it for his campaign.
The issue of using national symbols for electoral politics has been a subject of debate, as the use of the jersey is inevitable just days before the World Cup begins. There, once again, Shakira will sing at the opening with her new single, Dai Dai. Her international success has been a source of national pride for millions of Colombians, which is why the singer’s image inevitably ended up in the political fight.
Other Colombian singers have wanted to be more explicit with their support. On the left side, for example, the Santandereans Edson Velandia and Adriana Lizcano made the jingle for Cepeda’s campaign, which in turn has held concerts with bands like Systema Solar and 1280 Almas. The lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella has the support of his former business partner in a rum business, vallenato singer Silvestre Dangon, and the famous ranchera singer, Marbelle, who was his client at his law firm. More recently, from a rapper known as Crudo Means Raw, who received harsh criticism from his young followers who lean left.
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