The result of the second round of the Colombian presidential election, scheduled for Sunday June 19, looks tight. Only one certainty: an Afro-descendant woman will be vice-president in this country where machismo and racism are doing well. On the left of the chessboard, Francia Marquez, 40, is the running mate of candidate Gustavo Petro, who came first in the first round with 40.3% of the votes. “I come from a history of struggle and resistance that began with my ancestors brought to a condition of slavery”summarizes this anti-racist, environmentalist and feminist activist, who intends to represent “those who are nothing”. Mme Marquez seduces the alternative movement and feminists as much as she frightens a certain right, which accuses her of “distil hate”.
“I have a lot of admiration for Francia Marquez who, like me, was built by the strength of her wrist”, admits for his part Marelen Castillo who is the candidate for the vice-presidency of Rodolfo Hernandez, the unclassifiable 77-year-old outsider, who will face Mr. Petro on Sunday. Graduated in Physics, Biology and Engineering, Mme Castillo, 53, was a high school teacher before embarking on an academic career and holding several leadership positions at Minuto de Dios University in Bogota. “Rodolfo was looking for a vice-president, she says. None of the business leaders he contacted accepted his proposal. A journalist let him down. So Rodolfo asked his collaborators for CVs, I sent mine on the advice of a friend. » It was three months ago. Mme Castillo had never been in politics.
Prosperous entrepreneur, skilful and well-advised communicator, slayer of corruption, Rodolfo Hernandez has neither party nor team. With 28% of the votes in the first round, he came far behind Mr. Petro. But he should collect in the second round the bulk of the votes of the right-wing candidate, Federico Gutierrez, ousted from the race with 23% of the votes. The candidate of the centrist coalition, Sergio Fajardo, announced that he would vote blank. Ten days before the first round, the only woman in the running for the presidency, Ingrid Betancourt, credited with less than 1% of the voting intentions, had withdrawn her candidacy in favor of Rodolfo Hernandez.
“I vote for Francia, not for Petro”
Francia Marquez and Marelen Castillo both hail from the southwest of the country. The first grew up in Yolombo, a hamlet lost in the mountains, in the middle of torrents and artisanal gold mines. At a very young age, she began to fight against the transnational mining companies. His long struggle for the defense of the territory and peasant communities earned him the prestigious Goldman Prize for the environment in 2018. The following year, she appeared on the BBC’s list of the 100 most influential women in the world. In 2020, she graduated in law from the University of Cali. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in creative writing. “What bothers President Ivan Duque is that a woman who could be his service employee becomes vice-president”, she launches in front of the cameras, at the beginning of March. The video goes viral.
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