Medellín’s Mayor Quintero To Be Deposed Over Firing Of EPM General Manager

Colombia’s 18^th Civil Circuit Court of Medellin has accepted a motion for evidence requested by former EPM (Empresas Públicas de Medellín) CEO Älvaro Guillermo Rendón (above, foreground)associated with a possible lawsuit, that requires a written deposition by Medellín Mayor Daniel Quintero, (above, background)  who fired Rendón earlier this year.

The written deposition is in the form of a questionnaire that must be answered by the mayor within 15 days. Under Colombian law, a deposition of this type may be demanded before an actual lawsuit is filed.

On February 1 of this year, Mayor Quintero fired Rendón, claiming poor management and imperiling the $2.8 billion USD lawsuit the mayor instigated against the contractors building the Hidroituango hydroelectric project undertaken by city-owned utility conglomerate EPM. However, according to Rendón in several interviews, the mayor fired him due to his resistance of the mayor, along with his private secretary Maria Camila Villamizar Assaf’s interference in EPM’s internal management, contrary to the established corporate governance framework that allows EPM to operate as a business without direct political operational control.

The judge also ordered testimony by EPM’s current board of directors, consisting of Bernardita Pérez Restrepo, Jorge Andrés Carrillo Cardoso, Jorge Iván Palacio, Omar Flórez Vélez, Pablo Felipe Robledo Del Castillo, Guillermo León Diosa Pérez, Gildardo Antonio Correa Salazar, and Olmer Orlando Palacio Garzón.