Luis Eduardo Garzón

A run in the 2006 elections was ruled out as Garzón would have had to resign his post early in 2005 to be considered eligible and at the time of this writing, Antonio Navarro had already been chosen as the Independent Democratic Pole's (PDI) official pre-candidate but Carlos Gaviria became the PDA official candidate.

Towards the end of 2005, Garzón has had a recent conflict with his own party, the PDA, in Bogotá's city council due to his support for a proposed increase in the city's "valorization tax", in order to finance existing and future infrastructure and development projects. Most PDA and Radical Change councilmen oppose this measure as contrary to Garzón's "no new taxes" campaign pledge, while Garzón himself and councilmen affiliated with former mayor Enrique Peñalosa consider it necessary. The tax was approved during a September 29 city council vote, by a margin of four votes (24 against 20).

Garzón defeated Juan Lozano, the candidate favored by president Uribe and also by influential media groups as El Tiempo in Bogotá, in the mayoral elections in October 2003. Garzón's low budget campaign received a major boost when his candidacy was endorsed by the more leftwing sectors of the Liberal party, in particular those close to then senator Piedad Córdoba.

Considered by some analysts as an idiosyncratic and charismatic speaker, "Lucho" Garzón has been one of the most visible critics of President Álvaro Uribe's government, running against him on a shoe-string budget in the 2002 presidential race and finally making third place with 680,245 votes (6.16% of the voter turnout).

Luis Eduardo Garzón (nicknamed "Lucho") (born February 11, 1951 in Bogotá) is the former Mayor of Bogotá (2004–2007), a left-wing Colombian political activist and a former union leader. He is a former member of the Alternative Democratic Pole (PDA). In 2009 Garzón joined forces with former Mayors Enrique Peñalosa and Antanas Mockus to re-found the Green Party, an eco-oriented political movement.