Though Petro has cycled through ministers, Francia Marquez was popularly elected and cannot be removed from office by the President, though he can, and has removed her responsibilities, such as her appointment to the newly created “Ministry of Equality.”

“We are wanted in the photo but not in decision making. We are wanted as a symbol, but not as a people with a voice.”

In an emotional speech on July 25^th, Marquez “canto la tabla” as is said in Spanish, in other words, give someone a “severe talking to” as she denounced what she says is the mendacity, hypocrisy, and bigotry of Petro and his administration.

“We are wanted in the photo but not in decision making. We are wanted as a symbol, but not as a people with a voice. We are wanted to be obedient and if we do not obey, then comes punishment, political violence, cancellation and public dehumanization,” said Marquez, in Spanish, giving a speech in Cali, near her home turf of the Colombian Cauca department.

The vice president spoke at an international women’s event called “Juntas por la Restauración de Nuestra Dignidad” (Together for the Restoration of Our Dignity) held at the Universidad Libre, or Free University of Cali. Marquez stated that she has held her tongue for a long time, but she had to speak in her defense after political rivals close to Petro have called her arrogant and a traitor.

“…But I soon went from being the political phenomenon, the heroine, to being the traitor. Because in this country, when a woman rises, suspicion follows her. The system does not ask about her abilities, but rather whether she is in the place she deserves. If she steps outside the assigned margin, then she is arrogant, disloyal, clumsy, incapable and dangerous.”

Marques also referred to the controversy surrounding her time leading the Ministry of Equality, where she has been denounced for a perceived lack of execution in setting up the new ministry or executing against its mandate.

“From the campaign until today, I have experienced many episodes of delegitimization, sabotage and exclusion. I will tell you just a few. I was given the mission of creating an institution with no structure, no resources, no support. They told me ‘do it yourself.’ And when I argued that three vice ministries were too many, they demanded [I appoint] five. And I did it despite the systematic blockade. They accuse me of not executing, when they never gave me the instrument to do so.” In this case, Marquez is referring to the President’s inner circle wanting her to appoint vice ministers of their choice as sinecures, irrespective of need or capability.

Gustavo Petro, with the appointment of Francia Marquez as his running mate, tried to position himself as a racial progressive in Colombia, a country with a complex social fabric that struggles to overcome classism, regionalism, and political polarization, along with ethnicity. However, his treatment of Marquez along with many bigoted statements he has made during his term, arguably have exposed him as disingenuous at best, and one could make the case, racist.

“No one who is black can tell me!”

President Petro insisted upon the appointment of porn stars Alejandra Umaña (Amaranta Hank) and Juan Carlos Florián to political positions, which Marquez opposed on the grounds of their lack of qualification. Petro angrily responded in a televised ministerial meeting saying “No one who is black can tell me that a porn actor who created the sex workers’ union should be excluded,” not explaining why a black person would be excluded from having an opinion on the topic, as opposed to anyone else.

Then Foreign Minister Murillo (left) with Petro in better days between the two, earlier this year.

Petro’s former foreign minister says comments are “unacceptable”

The bigoted statement drew a rebuke from Petro’s former foreign minister, former ambassador to the US, and former governor of Chocó, Luís Gilberto Murillo, who said: “Do not say that ‘I don’t accept that a black tells me such and such a thing,’ because that racializes the discourse in Colombia, and even worse when it comes from the presidency of Colombia. It’s unacceptable, because we need to advance this inclusive nation.”

Petro, along with his penchant for calling people who disagree with him “neonazis,” has also made racist comments against people with a white phenotype such as US President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macrón. Facing Macrón in a conference earlier this month, Petro said “It’s easier to win votes with a lie and a fetish, saying that life will be better if we expel those who don’t have the same skin color, language, or religion…”to which Macrón shot back: “I never lecture someone from the South, and it’s a little strange to be lectured by someone from the South, just because they come from the South!”

French President Emmanuel Macrón Rebukes Petro in Spain

Petro seems to fancy himself an orator and leader of what some call the “Global South” but no one seems willing to follow him. In his own country, support hovers around 26-30% according to recent polls, and his frequent verbal gaffes are constant fodder for jokes and internet memes. Winning his election by a tight mandate against an ailing outsider candidate who died a few months later, Petro constantly refers to his “popular mandate” as if he has the support of the Colombian populace.

By appointing Francia Marquez, an Afrocolombian lawyer and community activist as his running mate, Petro, a leftist ex-guerilla, sought to define himself as progressive and inclusive. However, three years into his presidency, he and his political clique openly despise Marquez, excluding her from public events and important meetings. During the opening of this summer’s congressional session, she was excluded from the presidential entourage and had to make her own arrangements, as is her constitutional right, to attend the legislative session. Marquez is a nationally elected official, and as such, she does not owe fealty to the president and has the right to dissent. Still, Petro’s attitude towards her and others destroys whatever credibility he claims as a feminist and inclusive crusader for human rights.

This vote marks one of the final steps in formalizing the nation’s participation in a global accord that has taken on larger global significance since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from a deal that has represented one of the biggest steps in unifying nations across the world in taking against to combat climate change.

The Paris Agreement, which was first adopted in the French capital in December 2015 and signed by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos in April 2016, commits Colombia to reducing its emissions by 20% by 2030. Because the nation already generates around two-thirds of its energy through hydroelectric power, the required cut should be less daunting for Colombia than many other countries.

Per capita, Colombia emitted just 1.9 metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2013, according to the most recent data from the U.S.-based Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This is less than half the amount produced by Argentina (4.5 metric tons per person), Chile (4.7), and Mexico (3.9)

Many large economies — led by the United States (16.4), Australia (16.3), Canada (13.5), and Russia (12.5) — dwarf those figures, while nations including Japan (9.8), Germany (9.4), Israel (8.8), and the United Kingdom (7.1) produce three to five times as much carbon dioxide as Colombia per person. In terms of overall carbon emissions, Colombia’s advantage is even more pronounced in many cases.

Colombia’s push to cut emissions should also benefit from the country’s largely untapped alternative energy potential. Many analysts have pointed towards the Caribbean peninsula of Guajira as a potential windfarm bonanza, the nation’s three Andean mountain ranges offer many geothermal opportunities, and its location near the equator naturally creates an opportunity for solar generation.

President Santos celebrated the news and boasted of the accord’s ability to help not just the globe at large but also Colombia, which is home to more different species of plant and animal life than every nation on earth aside from Brazil. The nation also has a large percentage of a rare ecosystem known as páramo that exists in the high Andes and, in addition to supplying drinking water for millions in Bogotá, has become a rallying cause for conservation efforts in Colombia in recent years.

Santos hopes the momentum of this and other environmental pledges will also spur more innovation and development of Colombia as a biotechnology producer and adopter. “If we continue to preserve and take advantage of biodiversity, it will become a reality,” said Santos. “We have 50% of the world’s páramos, and we will protect them as our biggest water asset.”

The ratification comes at an opportune time for Santos, who will visit new French President Emmanuel Macron during a European trip this week. Though the president cancelled a planned stop in Portugal after an explosion in a central Bogotá shopping mall killed three women, including one French national, Santos still plans to meet with Macron in the city where the climate change accord was devised.

“Next week I hope to present to Emmanuel Macron the ratification of the Paris Agreement,” said Santos on Twitter on Friday. “We will lower carbon emissions by 20% by 2030.”

He was clear that investigators did not want to share their theories surrounding the large explosion in a women’s bathroom at the Andino shopping center that detonated around 5 pm on Saturday, fearing that revealing information could disrupt the case. “In many cases, investigations have been hampered or failed due to giving out information that should not be given,” said Santos

Photo: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos called for calm and unity today following yesterday’s attack that killed three people at the Andino mall in Bogotá. (Credit: Presidencia de la República.)

The president, who met today with Bogotá Mayor Enrique Peñalosa as well as the nation’s attorney general and police and military leaders, also said that they are offering a reward of more than $30,000 USD (100 million pesos) for anyone who can provide useful information about those involved in perpetrating the tragedy. He stressed the importance of uncovering as much information as possible in the immediate aftermath of the the explosion.

“The first days after an attack such as yesterday are essential,” said Santos today. “They are very important to guide the investigation and achieve results — achieve important progress — in determining the responsible culprits.”

The president, who was away from the capital when the blast went off, has also canceled a planned trip to Portugal in order to focus on the investigation. Santos had been scheduled to visit both Lisbon and France during four days in Europe this week, and he does still plan to head to Paris, where he will meet with recently elected President Emmanuel Macron.

The attack on one of the most upper-class neighborhoods in Bogotá has been met with a united front of condemnation from all sides of the political sphere, which is a rarity of late in a country that been vigorously divided over a controversial peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and a tax increase that were both enacted by the Santos administration last December.

“There is no bomb that can beat a united people,” said Santos on Father’s Day from the Andino mall in Bogotá. “There is no possibility that terrorism will bring down the Colombian people. On the contrary, we have had much experience with terrorism, and we have always forged ahead — and we are going to forge ahead.”

The National Liberation Army (ELN), which has been the most belligerent leftist guerrilla group over the past two years as FARC has moved toward peace, has also repudiated the attack and denied responsibility.