ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of more than 30 years of presidential debates in Colombia. It starts by describing the four evolutionary stages of presidential debates. Such description shows that this form of political communication evolved from being rare events to becoming central components of the electoral season; it also demonstrates that the transformation in the role of presidential debates was pushed by changes in the party system, institutional reforms, and a more competitive media landscape. The chapter then explores the main formal features of the 27 televised presidential debates that took place in Colombia between 1986 and 2018. Finally, the chapter describes the rules governing electoral debates in Colombia. Presidential debates are part of political advertising actions; thus, these events are a right of candidates, not an obligation of them. Despite the minimal legal regulation of presidential debates in Colombia, these events are governed by a set of unwritten rules that have developed over a period of 30 years.
