Vice President Francia Márquez assumes the role of Minister of Equality of Colombia

The president of Colombia, Francia Márquez, became the country’s first Minister of Equality and Equity as of Thursday, a position that she will hold simultaneously with the dignity she already occupies.

The decision follows the signing by the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, of the norms that gave life to the new entity, among them, the one that appoints Márquez as minister and those that create several vice ministries to care for women and the youth, among others.

The Ministry of Equality and Equity It was created in January by a law approved by the Colombian Congress and promoted by Francia Márquez herself. However, regulations were still needed to define the details of its operation.

In her possession as minister, the vice president assured that the new entity is one of the campaign promises of President Gustavo Petro that is being fulfilled.

According to Márquez, the new entity will care and work “tirelessly” for the most vulnerable populations and regions of the country.

She also declared herself proud to be accompanying the Colombian president in a government that, she said, is an exercise “built from the roots, from the people.”

The creation of the Ministry of Equality and Equity, made official on Thursday, has been strongly criticized by opposition political parties, who see it as a waste of resources.

During the parliamentary debate, some congressmen proposed that the Department of Social Prosperity (DPS) – an entity that fulfills several of the functions of this new instance – become the Ministry of Equality to save resources, but this was rejected.

The congresswoman for the Radical Change Party Carolina Arbeláez, for example, affirmed at the time that with the creation of the Ministry of Equality they were “signing a blank check” so that “more bureaucracy and more spending” is created.

During the inauguration of Márquez as minister, in an act in Riohacha, in La Guajira, in the extreme north of Colombia, President Petro took the opportunity to announce the state of economic and social emergency that intends to address the possible drought that could occur in that country department.

According to the president, “all the probabilities of the climate models that the institutions dedicated to this need” point to the fact that “a public calamity is coming” caused by a drought that “had never been seen in La Guajira.”

The president announced that the emergency decrees will be issued in the coming days.

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