The story of María Claudia Tarazona, Miguel Uribe's wife and teammate.

“I am María Claudia Tarazona, Miguel’s wife. He is currently fighting for his life. Let us ask God to guide the hands of the doctors who are treating him.” This was the first message posted on social media by Miguel Uribe Turbay ’s wife on Saturday, June 7. It was 9:22 p.m. Four hours earlier, her husband had been the victim of an attack in a park in the Modelia neighborhood of Bogotá. He had been shot in the head and was fighting for his life.

“I ask you from the bottom of my heart to keep praying. Miguel needs a miracle,” was his next message. Day after day, while the presidential candidate's medical progress keeps the country in suspense, his wife's presence has demonstrated a strength that has surprised Colombians. Not only those who know her closely, because they know that strength is a special hallmark that has always accompanied her.

María Claudia Tarazona had until now maintained a very low profile, away from the spotlight. However , her companionship has been key in Miguel Uribe Turbay's life, not only as his wife, but as a partner in his political struggles since he took his first steps toward reaching the Bogotá City Council in 2011. It was precisely that year that they met. María Claudia, a lawyer by profession and originally from Sucre, was dedicated at the time to advancing international cooperation projects for social development. She had one in mind, related to children, for which she needed resources. A friend told her:

—There's someone who can help you with that.

She thought it would be a good idea to meet and get to know each other. Her friend told her it was council candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay. Tarazona hadn't had that in mind. She hadn't been involved in politics, and at that time, Uribe was just beginning to emerge as a public figure. Meanwhile, the mutual friend told Miguel there was someone who could support him in his campaign. They met.

At that first meeting, María Claudia was struck by the interest of someone so young—the candidate was 25 at the time—in becoming a council member. But she was also surprised by the passion with which he spoke about his political projects. Uribe invited her to join the campaign. At first, the idea didn't appeal to her, but his enthusiasm ultimately won her over . Tarazona not only began leading the volunteer effort but also became a key player, eventually becoming its manager. "When María Claudia joined the campaign, she brought the order and structure that Miguel was looking for," says Simón Gaviria, who introduced Uribe Turbay to the Liberal Party and invited him to lead the Council ticket.

Like him, several people who participated in that electoral campaign remember the key role Tarazona played. “María Claudia assumed great leadership. She became Miguel's advisor, his great motivator,” says Winston González, then press chief for the Liberal Party and the candidate's supporter in media strategy.

Miguel Uribe was elected to the Council with a good number of votes, and María Claudia Tarazona moved on to other professional duties. They stopped seeing each other for a while. She was in the process of separating, with three daughters who were then ages 9, 7, and 3. When they met again, their relationship began. In a video about Uribe's life published on her official channels, she recalls that moment: "I began to discover a very fascinating side of Miguel: the maturity with which he took on two very important things he was experiencing in his life at the same time: one, managing a position like councilman, and at the same time, a relationship with a woman who had three daughters."

He, for his part, commented: “We began to see that things were working out, and we both decided to take the toughest gamble: to be together.” María Claudia was a bit hesitant: first it was a yes, then a no. “I regretted it. I pushed forward, then I backed down,” she recounted with a smile. When Uribe was finishing his term on the Council—he became the youngest ever to hold the presidency of that institution—he proposed to her. They married in 2016. At the wedding, María Claudia's three daughters walked her down the aisle. “My daughters were given to me. The four of us were finding ourselves on a path in life with Miguel.”

María Claudia Tarazona and Miguel Uribe Turbay have been a team ever since, not only in their families but also politically. After serving on the City Council and as Secretary of Government in Enrique Peñalosa's administration, Uribe launched his bid for Mayor of Bogotá. She was by his side, overseeing every detail of the campaign, from collecting signatures to register his candidacy for the Avancemos movement to the communications strategy. Uribe wasn't elected, but he did establish himself as a key figure in the new political landscape. So much so that his next challenge in the popular election was to seek a seat in the Senate, and not only did he win it, but he also ended up being the most voted-in candidate nationwide.

Tarazona has remained present at each of these stages. “María Claudia and Miguel have a close relationship. She supports him and participates in his decisions ,” says Iván Casas, who has been with Uribe at various points in his political career and supported him in coordinating his Senate campaign. “During that election period, María Claudia was especially focused on communication issues and ensured that everything within the campaign ran smoothly.”

Those close to him appreciate how Tarazona fulfills her role as a caregiver for her family—which is the most important thing to her, they say—and the task of supporting her husband in his political career. “María Claudia has always been there, through all of Miguel’s moments. Through the difficult times, through the easy ones. She has been an anchor for him,” says House Representative Carolina Arbeláez, a friend of both.

These days, forced by circumstances, she has had to leave the low-profile position she usually occupies and prefers. We have seen her, at the Santa Fe Foundation facilities—where her husband is in intensive care—go out to meet the people who have come to pray for the presidential candidate's recovery. Tarazona has spoken before the cameras, expressed her gratitude for the support, and sent a clear message: "We have a purpose in life and a cause that we cannot forget. (...). I call on each of the sectors, the political groups, the armed groups, to heal Colombia and unite. That is why Miguel is where he is, because he was fighting to heal a country at war."

That determination has always characterized her, as well as the conviction that it is possible to overcome problems, both politically and personally. Carolina Arbeláez says that when she needs a message of encouragement, she often turns to Tarazona. “I seek her out because she knows how to give words of encouragement, of inspiration to keep going,” says the representative. “Her character is one of perseverance, of not giving up, of falling and getting back up.” A hallmark of her personality that she has, indeed, demonstrated in her recent messages.

Julio César Acosta, who shared his time on the Bogotá City Council with Miguel Uribe and has maintained a close friendship ever since, has seen how they have managed to consolidate a relationship in which they know how to complement each other. “ María Claudia is a very capable, very structured woman,” says Acosta. “She doesn't hesitate; she has a very clear vision of things and the values ​​and principles she wants for her family. She has the ability to see Miguel's inner and outer world, which allows her to advise him very well.” Those who know her also highlight her interest in studying current issues in depth, which gives her an advantage when it comes to providing support.

Along with her strength, there is her dedication to her family. Her husband, her three daughters—whom Miguel welcomed and loves as his own—and Alejandro, who was born four years ago. “My greatest gift in life has been getting to know María Claudia and her daughters. They and my son are my driving force behind good politics, ” Uribe said in a recent interview. “I dream of a nonviolent country because I want them, him, and all the young people of Colombia to be happy here.” When he said this, he was already a presidential candidate, a campaign he launched in earnest at the beginning of this year with tours of several departments where his wife has been at his side.

In one of her speeches at the Santa Fe Foundation, María Claudia Tarazona said: “No child in Colombia should repeat what my son is experiencing today: seeing his father shot in the head at the age of four. No Colombian should have to go through that.” Both she and her husband dream of a different country.