The result of the elections in Colombia has a double historical value: not only for the victory of a former Marxist guerrilla, Gustavo Petro, the first left-wing president since the founding of the Latin American nation, but also for the election to his side of the 40-year-old France Marquezfirst Afro-descendant vice president of Colombia, feminist, mother, environmental activist, who survived an armed attack because she was against mining, whose slogan was “In the name of no one”, that is the commitment to give a voice to those who have not yet he ever had it.
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by Daniele Mastrogiacomo
The first African American vice-president
Frizzy hair, African clothes and raised fist, Marquez he campaigned for “those who are nothing, those whose humanity is not recognized, those whose rights are not considered”. In his first speech on the evening of victory, he called for “national reconciliation in joy and peace”, arguing: “Despite our differences, we can build a nation that goes on, a prosperous nation.” She is not the first woman elected to the vice presidency, because she takes the place of the conservative Marta Lucia Ramirez. And Petro’s opponent, Rodolfo Hernandezhas a companion of Afro-descendant origin, Marelen Castillo, who would have become the first-lady if he had prevailed, but the latter has always avoided addressing the issue of racism, instead brought to the fore by the couple’s candidate of left.
Feminism and environmentalism
Nearly 10 percent of Colombia’s 50 million inhabitants identify as descendants of African descent. Few of them, however, hold positions of power and even fewer in the case of women. In the outgoing government there is only one Afro-descendant woman and in parliament, out of 300 deputies and senators, there are only two black legislators. The election of Francia Marquez to the vice-presidency is therefore “very important from a political, symbolic and cultural point of view, because racism is very strong in Colombia”, commented sociologist Cristina Echeverri, noting that it represents an “environmental, ethnic, racial, youthful and feminist “.
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Born into a poor family in the Cauca department in the southwest of the country, Marquez became a single mother at 16, had to flee her region after being threatened with death, did housework to earn a living, and had the tenacity to study before making his way into politics. Awarded the Goldman Prize, also known as the Nobel Prize for the Environment, for her ecological battles, she survived an armed attack in 2019 after opposing mining exploitation in her home region, where armed groups fight to divide up traffic. of drugs and income from illegal gold mining.
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Commitment to peace
“The time has come to build peace, a peace that implies social justice,” he said Sunday evening in Bogota in his victory speech. “We hope to build together a country in peace, with dignity, opportunity and justice for all”, she added, paying tribute to “all those who have been murdered, kidnapped and exploited in Colombia”. Together with the newly elected president Petro, Francia Marquez intends to carry out ambitious transformations, in particular the cessation of oil exploration to face the climate crisis and the increase in taxes on the rich. “I see myself ruling this country from the most forgotten places, from the peripheries,” he said, stating that Petro has also entrusted her with the task of leading a new ministry of equality that will guarantee the rights of women, young people, ethnic minorities and of LGBT people. “We have taken an important step,” she concluded with pride. “We have a government of the people, a government for those who walk, a government for those who are nothing. And I’m the first Afro-descendant female vice president in the history of Colombia. “