Modelia: The Neighborhood Running Out of Candles to Pray for Miguel Uribe Turbay’s Life—“The Scary Stories Our Grandparents Told Us Are Real”

Residents of Modelia are astonished by a dozen flickering candles in El Golfito Park. They watch in silence, murmuring a few words. It was here, on Saturday, where a 14-year-old hitman attempted to kill presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay. The inhabitants of this Bogotá neighborhood, like the entire country, remain shaken. They read a campaign flyer stuck to a rock, surrounded by the candles, with the face of the young right-wing senator. “Security returns,” it says. Some make the sign of the cross and pray for God to save him. Others reflect without thinking of God and lament the return of political violence: Colombia hasn’t seen an attack against a presidential candidate in 35 years. After a few minutes, they leave, and others arrive to repeat the same ritual. It happens over and over, unending, all afternoon.

Silence is only broken when neighbors share their impressions with one another. They talk about a shopkeeper whom the hitman asked about the politician he was going to shoot, question the failures in security, and point out the direction from which the assassin attempted to escape. There are older women who remember he had “a supportive grandmother,” referring to Nydia Quintero, a philanthropist who led the Solidarity Foundation for Colombia and was the wife of President Julio César Turbay (1978-1982). Younger people point out that the politician’s mother was Diana Turbay, a journalist kidnapped and murdered by drug trafficker Pablo Escobar in 1991. “We saw him on television since he was a kid, three or four years old,” comments a woman.

Oscar Suárez, a 65-year-old real estate agent, is one of the participants. He explains that he took a while to arrive because it was difficult to find candles: they were sold out in several places, and he finally succeeded at a stationery store that had restocked that morning. “It’s green because it’s the color of hope,” he explains, alongside his wife and daughter. He mentions that he hasn’t decided on his vote yet, but that the senator appeals to him and his family because he is one of the options from the Democratic Center, the party of former right-wing president Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010). “This young man had gathered his flags. He lacked experience in government, but he is a well-prepared youth and would have functioned with Uribe’s backing,” he asserts.

Others, however, distance themselves from Uribism. Sara Salgado, a 72-year-old woman, states that she doesn’t have “a defined political party” and simply favors two politicians: Uribe Turbay and David Luna, a more moderate option among right-wing politicians. Manuel Reggino, a local insurance worker, expresses his distrust of the former president’s political maneuvers and prefers more extreme options, like the outsider Vicky Dávila. “Uribe Turbay belongs more to an elite sector and is just starting, while she reaches all strata,” he evaluates. Nonetheless, everyone expresses their fondness for the senator, who has built an image appealing to right-wing voters: a young man with foreign training, married, and with a child.

Some neighbors assert that it would be impossible to find someone left-wing or who sympathizes with President Gustavo Petro in this area. They claim that some supporters of Petro have even complained about the media coverage this attack received or have entertained conspiracy theories, without evidence, suggesting it was organized by the right to destabilize the government. They also note that it is a middle to upper-middle-class neighborhood where support for the president is lacking. However, a 38-year-old man soon dispels these assumptions.

Oscar Beltrán, a sociologist who also lives in the neighborhood, comments that he “is at the opposite end” and shares nothing with Uribe Turbay. Still, he appears troubled as he watches the candles in silence. He states, “What happened is extremely serious, it’s a step back 30 years. And I think about how the efforts we make from academia don’t seem to help much.” He adds, “This is the first time many young people see an attempted assassination of a presidential candidate. It’s seeing that the horror stories grandparents told are real.” He continues, “If he were to die, it would be disastrous, sending the message that violence can wield power over the State.”

Neither Beltrán nor the other neighbors understand how a hitman shot at Uribe Turbay, a candidate who hasn’t yet positioned himself as a winner, unlike other victims of political violence from the past. Some lament “how polarized the country is.” Others decode that the right is specifically in danger, in tune with messages from former president Uribe about a supposed plan to also target him. Beltrán expresses his concern over this interpretation that is already beginning to be seen around the candles: “Although most political deaths have been from the left, this seems to send a message that the right is the one at risk, that a left-wing government cannot protect its candidates.”

The Merchants

Esperanza Bociga, owner of a locksmith shop about 50 meters away, did not know Uribe Turbay before the politician showed up in the neighborhood to hand out flyers, listen to residents, and promote his security policies. “I didn’t even know the campaigns had started,” she says. However, she is the most moved when asked about the impact of the attack. Tears well up in her eyes, she steps to the back of her store for a moment, then returns after composing herself: “I was very touched that I saw him so happy just a few minutes before, taking pictures. He greeted me, and I greeted him back. He seemed like a good person when I saw him.”

Mallelyn Bracho, from a rotisserie restaurant across from the park, notes that the neighbors feel disturbed because they appreciated that the senator came to visit them and listened to their concerns about insecurity in the neighborhood — some robbers had just raided a pharmacy a few hours earlier. “You don’t usually see politicians like that in these neighborhoods. People value when they pay attention to the needs you have in your home, in your area,” she points out. In her case, she didn’t even know who he was and had never seen a politician before. She says that when she saw him walking around the block, it reminded her of a documentary she had watched recently about Luis Carlos Galán and his assassination in 1989. Minutes later, she saw history repeat itself: gunfire, screams, neighbors taking refuge in her establishment.

Gladys Gamboa, an 81-year-old woman, experienced that shock from her home while watching a gossip show. She heard the neighbors’ screams: “They killed Miguel, they killed Miguel!” She went outside, and her blood pressure rose, to the point where she had to take some pills to calm herself down. She was struck not only by the violence but by the fact that it was a politician she liked because “the youth have more to offer.” “I didn’t know he was coming. If I had, I would’ve gone out too,” she comments.

Recovering from the shock, Gamboa shares her thoughts with shoemaker Carlos Santos, who has his business in front of the park. “Oh, neighbor, what a thing happened,” she begins. “Oh, my God,” “oh, my God,” she adds. He, meanwhile, maintains a certain indifference. He says he always votes blank, doesn’t watch the news, and doesn’t believe in politicians. However, he expresses his wishes for Uribe Turbay’s life: “I had no idea who that man was. Or who he is, because God willing, may He protect him and not take him away.”