Image: Ultimas Noticias
Last month Colombians made history when they elected Gustavo Petro, the country's first leftist president, making his running mate Francia Márquez the country’s first Black vice president.
Born in a village in the Cauca region of Colombia, the 40-year old, long-time environmental activist has never held elected office before. As a single mother, she worked in a gold mine in her early years and later worked as a housekeeper to support her family.
Márquez started her activism at a young age, and once organized a 500-kilometer protest march to demonstrate against illegal miners who were destroying biodiversity along the Ovejas river in her community. Her efforts, which included protesting in front of the internal ministry for 20 days, pressured the government into action as they pledged to stop the illegal mining around the community.
"After 214 years we have achieved a government of the people, a popular government, a government of people with calloused hands...the government of the nobodies of Colombia," she said, following this historic win. “The vice presidency is a means, the end is to achieve peace and dignity.”
She was awarded the Goldman Prize in 2018 for her long history of environmental activism and the next year was named on BBC’s list of the 100 most influential women in the world. In 2020, Márquez earned a law degree from the University of Santiago de Caliin. With her newfound political power, she will look to continue advocating for the rights of Afro-Colombians, 31% of whom live in poverty. Though likely to face many challenges, she has pledged to be a politician that is for the people.
"Our governments have turned their backs on the people, on justice and on peace," she said. "If they had done their job properly, I wouldn't be here."
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