He was considered a political dark horse and he made his first candidacy for the presidency under Citizen Prosperity party, where polls placed him as a favorite.
[1][4] Pineda currently owns businesses in a few sectors, including agriculture (growing African palms, bananas and other fruits; cattle ranching), petroleum (gas stations), and transport.
[1][7] Pineda's political career unofficially began in 2019, when he was mentioned as a possible running mate for the candidacy of Mario Estrada [es] of the National Change Union in that year's presidential election.
However, this ended up not materializing, and Pineda joined Avanza,[5] where he was elected secretary general of the party's branch in Izabal Department.
[1][5] In 2022, Pineda joined Cambio, another political party in formation, which was linked to the children of former presidential candidate Manuel Baldizón (at the time still in prison in the United States for money laundering).
Pineda's social media strategy was being managed by Cristian Aguilar, who had assisted fellow outsider candidate Jimmy Morales in 2015.