Francia Márquez leaves the Ministry of Equality

Vice President Francia Márquez will no longer be Minister of Equality. She has reportedly submitted her resignation after a meeting with President Gustavo Petro on Monday. Government sources confirmed the departure. In this way, the second in command in the Executive would leave a portfolio that was created specifically for her to manage, fulfilling a campaign promise.

Márquez's departure from the Ministry comes after three weeks of expectations about what her future would be in Gustavo Petro's government. She was one of the officials who led the "rebellion" in the televised cabinet meeting on February 4.

The vice president questioned the president for “the lack of transparency” in the government: “Today it hurts me that in this government that I helped elect there are so many acts of corruption and we have to say it head on.”

He also directed his harshest criticism at Laura Sarabia and also expressed his differences with Armando Benedetti. Then, he again questioned the fact that he is being criticized for his work in the Ministry of Equality when his portfolio started from scratch and supposedly was not given enough tools.

In another of her interventions, Márquez revealed a hard fracture with the President, “ I thought that I was going to arrive here to be your ally,” and even put her position before the president, “I will walk with you as far as you say.”

Since that cabinet meeting, there have been several unknowns. Although Márquez has stated that he would not resign, strong rumors have begun to circulate about his departure. Among the replacements proposed are Carlos Carrillo, current director of UNGRD; María Paz Gaviria; the current Vice Minister of Women, Tamara Ospina; and Carlos Rosero, a social leader close to the vice president.

It remains to be seen whether Francia Márquez will continue to serve as vice president or whether she will also step aside from the position for which she was elected. In this second scenario, she would give Congress the power to elect her successor.

Previous reports indicated that she even gave the President an ultimatum that if he removed her from his portfolio, she would resign from the vice presidency as well. However, if Rosero arrives, it would be proven that the departure was on good terms, since he is close to the official.

The breakup between Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez is not the first time that a president has faced his vice president. The most emblematic case was that of Ernesto Samper and Humberto de la Calle. In this case, in the face of the controversies of the 8,000 process, De la Calle distanced himself from the administration, so much so that he resigned and the legislature appointed Carlos Lemos Simmonds in his place.

Another similar example was the differences between Juan Manuel Santos and Angelino Garzón over the peace process with the extinct FARC. Although Garzón did not resign, for his second term, Santos opted for a new candidate, Germán Vargas Lleras.

Vargas Llera did leave the position for which he was elected in the 2014-2018 period. It was not because of differences with the then President, but because he left office to bet on a candidacy in 2018.

Juan Sebastian Lombo Delgado