Colombia: contest for black academic and former domestic vice president

Francia Márquez and Marelen Castillo were born in the same part of the country, but they have very different profiles.

In the second round of the presidential election, which will be held this Sunday (19/06), two black women are vying for the vice presidency in Colombia.

On one side, Francia Márquez, a former maid, feminist lawyer and activist against environmental and racism, sided with left-wing politician Gustavo Petro.

On the other hand, Marelen Castillo, doctor in education and former vice-chancellor of the Universidad Minuto de Dios (Minuto de Deus), is part of the coalition of businessman Rodolfo Hernández, a businessman and the former mayor who presents himself as a “foreigner”. The politics and the final part of the first round ended surprisingly.

Márquez and Castillo hail from cities in the Colombian Pacific region of Cauca, the historic stronghold of the Afro-Colombians. A region known for its natural beauty and tourism as well as for the hardships of guerrilla times – among them the problem of poverty and the “displaced”, those who, when confronted, have no choice but to leave their homes and lands. crime.

But the candidates have more differences than similarities, as they make lists with very different ideologies and proposals.

The presidential race in Colombia will for the first time be between a candidate from the left or centre-left and a candidate who presents himself as one of the “outsiders” of the political system. The traditional right and centre-right parties, which have ruled the country for decades, were defeated in the first round held on 29.05.2018.

Márquez was elected as Petro’s deputy after a wide vote in the party primaries held by the Pacto Histórico coalition last March.

The 40-year-old is described as an “election phenomenon” for his ability to bring together growing supporters after participating in national protests in 2019 and 2020. Two years ago, he wrote on his social media that he wanted to do this. Become the president of the country “so that our children can walk without fear of being killed”.

Among the flags to defend the environment highlighted in this election campaign is the opposition. break For oil and gas exploration, which is in line with Petro’s proposal to slow oil exploration in the country and has drawn criticism from the Colombian business sector.

Francia started her environmental activism at a young age – Reuters (750×1)

Castillo was, in his own words, the “perfect outsider” to Colombian voters until recently. Just three months ago, he joined the staff of former Bucaramanga mayor Rodolfo Hernández, who faced difficulties in running for vice president.

The businessman in the construction industry, who heads the Liga dos Governantes Anticorrupção coalition, has made statements that are described as sexist, such as women staying at home and taking care of their children.

At the age of 53, Castillo was educated in Mexico and the United States and is a devotee of the Catholic saint the Virgin of Guadalupe.

In the final part of her runoff campaign, she started gaining popularity by exposing her work on university inclusion of young people from poorer parts of the country and advocating the creation of opportunities for women.

“I accepted the candidacy in order to be able to help so many Colombian women who didn’t have the opportunity. And because I believe that politics and education have the same purpose to do citizenship good,” she said.

The candidate said Hernández has experience as an “entrepreneur and entrepreneur” and that his involvement in a final government will be mainly in the field of education. The presidential candidate has already indicated that if the candidate is elected, Castillo will also occupy the Ministry of Education.

The future vice president’s plans include increasing the salaries of public school teachers and investing in sports and the arts.

His CV, submitted to the report by the press office, includes four university degrees: a doctorate in education in the United States, a master’s in business administration in Mexico, industrial engineering in Colombia, and biology and chemistry.

Castillo named ‘perfect unknown’ by Colombian voters – EPA (750×1)

First round with record Afro-Colombian candidates

According to political scientist Luciana Manfredi of Icesi University in Cali, Castillo’s comments serve as a kind of “containment” to Hernández’s controversial statements.

“After several unsuccessful attempts, he chose her as his assistant. He is a prepared educator but has a very different trajectory from Francia. [que é] He’s much more popular and has more experience in the political arena,” he adds.

In interviews, the mother of two, Castillo, said she grew up in a mixed-race, middle-class family with a white father and black mother where race was not an issue.

A 16-year-old single mother, Marquéz has lived a life filled with financial difficulties. As a teenager, at age 15, he began to engage in activism in defense of the environment and against illegal mining companies in Cauca, as evidenced by his then-available interviews.

Years later, in 2018, he received the international Goldman award for his performance in this field, which was defined as the “Green Nobel” by experts.

Márquez says he decided to study law because of his environmental concerns and dedication to highlighting his enslaved ancestors. He describes himself on his website as “part of the fight against structural racism”.

In a “highly racist” country, as Alejo Vargas Velázquez, a professor of political science at the National University of Colombia, put it, he has come to be recognized and respected nationwide for his defense of leadership and the environment.

Although at least 10% of the country’s population is black, this entity is not registered in the highest power areas, as Márquez often emphasizes.

But that election campaign broke the record of five Afro-Colombian candidates for vice president in the first phase of the electoral dispute, as defined by a professor of sociology at Icesi University and director of the Center for Afro-Diasporic Studies. Aurora Vergara-Figueroa as “something that is unprecedented and occurred about 170 years ago when Afro-descendants were in slavery conditions in Colombia”.

Different profiles, different difficulties

Analyst Jorge Restrepo of the Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá notes that the similarities between the two defects appear limited to their origin in the Colombian Pacific region.

“We’re starting to recognize Hernández’s aide, while Márquez is already a politician of national expression and had influence even before Petro became his deputy”.

Márquez was chairman of the National Peace and Reconciliation and Coexistence Committee of the National Peace Council when he supported and “push” the implementation of the peace agreement between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The one who knocked down the guns after 50 years of conflict.

During the election campaign, he was the target of “fake news” pointing to his alleged ties to the ELN guerrilla group, as reported by El Espectador from Bogota. He filed a lawsuit this year against a senator who would suggest the link, but the judiciary realized that the process was not supported.

His background as an activist and national personality includes 2014, when he led what’s known as the “turban march” against mining and his hometown of La Toma in the black community in the Suárez municipality in Cauca.

The march brought together dozens of Afro-Colombian women who marched more than 500 kilometers to the nation’s capital for 22 days to condemn the illegal exploitation of the mines.

Márquez, who has repeatedly been threatened with death on accusations of illegal mining and pollution of rivers, as he has condemned on several occasions, appeared on the election campaign stage in the company of security guards.

At one of the rallies in Bogotá, celebrating the “Afro-Colombian” day, when a green laser was aimed at the island, his aides decided to hastily remove him from the stage.

For analysts, Castillo’s challenge is to be better known among Colombians, while Márquez’s is to rely on the support of those who do not share his activism in defense of the environment.