Lawyer Francia Marquez, activist in defense of human rights and the environment, was elected as the vice president of this Sunday (19) Colombia, the first black woman to hold office. He and presidential candidate Gustavo Petro, a former M-19 guerrilla fighter and now a senator ColombiaWon the presidential election in the country. Petro became the first leftist president to be elected by the Colombian people, defeating candidate Rodolfo Hernández.
Born in the district of La Toma in the west of the country, Francia was the leader of a popular movement against mineral exploration in the region, a struggle that earned her recognition with the Goldman Prize (considered the “Nobel for the Environment”). In 2018..
Francia Marquez (left) and Gustavo Petro (right) (22) during a political event this Sunday – Photo: Juan Barreto / AFP
After spending more than 10 years working in social movements, Francia began her pre-candidate run for the presidency. Colombia in 2021. However, as the campaign progressed, she became part of the ticket of Gustavo Petro, a leftist candidate.
A 40-year-old woman with a law degree from the University of Santiago de Cali, Francia is a single mother of two children and her life story is closely tied to social activism.
As a young woman, she worked as a gold prophet and as a domestic servant, a role she paid for her studies.
A wall painting in Suarez shows Francia Marquez – Photo: Raul Arboleda / AFP
When he was of age, he led movements against the expansion of mining in the region and flourished in the Colombian political scene.
During the campaign, she promised to help create and uphold the rights of women, blacks, indigenous peoples, farmers, and the LGBTQIA+ population, if elected.
“For me, occupying a position in the state is not the end of the path. The end for me is to make life dignified, to care for life, to live in a more just and respectable place for all. The end is to reduce the black mortality rate. reach the presidency of Colombia One means, the capture of the state is a means to continue the struggle that we as a people and humanity want”, said Francia Marquez before joining Petro’s ticket.
In 2014, as president of the Union of Afro-descendant Women of Yolombo, she organized the “mobilization of black women to care for the life and ancestral spheres”, a movement that brought together people from north of Coca and Bogota. advanced for ( capital) to demand their rights. ,
Francia Marquez to hold the Goldman Prize for the Environment in 2018 – Photo: Disclosure
In 2018, after receiving the Goldman Prize for the Environment, Francia launched herself as a candidate to command the Chamber of Afro-Descendant Communities.
In 2021, before presenting a pre-candidate for the presidency of the republic, he was the leader of the National Committee for Peace, Reconciliation and Coexistence of the National Peace Council.
