The electoral geography of Colombia follows a modified “core/periphery” pattern, one in which the central region of the country tends to vote for rightwing candidates while the outer areas tend to favor leftwing candidates. As the previous GeoCurrents post showed, racial/ethnic differences contribute to this pattern. For example, Black Colombians, who generally vote for the left, are highly concentrated in the (peripheral) Pacific region. The indigenous peoples of the country are also concentrated in peripheral areas and also vote heavily for the left.
Indigenous Colombians, who number roughly two million and constitute some 4.4 percent of the national population, have a complex distributional pattern. As the first map posted below shows, the highest indigenous percentages are found in the far-eastern lowlands of the Amazon and Orinoquía natural regions (see the second map below). In 2018, Vaupés and Guainía departments were recorded as more than 70 percent indigenous, while Vichada and Amazonas registered more than 50 percent. Relatively high indigenous percentages are also found in the Pacific region of the west, in parts of the Caribbean region of the north, and in parts of the southern highlands. La Guajira in the far north is only slightly less than 50 percent indigenous. In contrast, the north-central part of Colombia has very few indigenous inhabitants.
But although the indigenous population percentage of far eastern Colombia is high, the total number of indigenous people in the region is relatively low, as it is very sparsely populated. Vaupés Department, for example, has only some 45,000 residents. As the combined map and data set posted below shows, most indigenous Colombians live in the western half of the country, where they are concentrated in a few particular areas.
As the pair of maps posted below shows, the highly indigenous municipalities of western Colombia supported the leftwing candidate, Ivan Cepeda, in the 2026 presidential election. Not coincidentally, one of the few left-voting areas in the central highlands is dominated by an indigenous group, the Pijao people. Intriguingly, as noted in Encyclopedia Brittanica, the Pijao were “thought to be extinct” in the 1950s, but in the 1990s the remaining community fought for and gained official recognition. The Pijao language, however, is no longer spoken.
The electoral situation among the Zenú people of the Caribbean, the second largest Colombian indigenous community, is not clear on the maps posted above. Closer investigation of Cordoba Department, however, shows that the three core Zenú municipalities, where they form a clear majority, voted for Cepeda. But several other municipalities in the region that have large Zenú minorities or slight majorities voted for the rightwing candidate, Abelardo de la Espriella. This voting pattern reflects local differences in the rural areas of the Caribbean region of Colombia that were analyzed in previous GeoCurrents posts.
Intriguingly, in Guainía Department in far eastern Colombia, two areas* with substantial indigenous majorities voted for de la Espriella. These results, however, are probably not indicative of local political views. As can be seen in the final figure posted below, both districts have small populations and low turnouts. It seems like that most of the indigenous inhabitants of here did not, or were not able to, vote. Eastern Guainía is a very remote area with minimal infrastructure and little modernization. Even basic demographic data here is highly uncertain. Although ChatGPT and Grok provide nearly identical population figures for Puerto Colombia (1,980 and 1,971), Gemini AI (Google) gives a wide range: 1,870 to 4,700. Although far less precise, the Gemini figure could easily be more accurate.
*Although Colombia’s departments are mostly divided into local administrative districts called “municipalities,” that is not the case throughout the country. As noted in the Wikipedia article on Guainía Department, “There are two municipalities in Guainía: Inírida, its capital, and Barranco Minas. The rest of the territory is subdivided in corregimientos departamentales, a pending figure due to public disorder.” Grok AI, however, tells me that the official designation of such districts has been changed to “áreas no municipalizadas” that are administered directly by the departmental government, citing a Spanish-language Wikipedia page.