The result of the presidential elections in Colombia not only represents the first time that the left will govern the country after the victory of Gustavo Petro, but also the victory of the first black woman in the vice presidency.
Francia Márquez Mina, who was born in the municipality of Suárez, Cauca, a region plagued by the armed conflict that the country has suffered, became one of the most influential figures in Colombian politics, after obtaining 781,120 votes in the internal consultation of the Historical Pact, the coalition of leftist movements that supported Petro.
It was the first time that she was measured in national elections.
His popularity was influenced in part by voters who gave their support on Sunday to the leftist leader who won more than 11 million votes.
For many, France represents feminism and its presence in the regions and communities most affected by poverty and violence.
Colombia's left-wing vice-presidential candidate, Francia Márquez, of the Historical Pact coalition, speaks after the victory of presidential candidate Gustavo Petro in the second round of the presidential elections, at the Movistar Arena, in Bogotá on June 19, 2022. .REUTERS
The elected vice president is a lawyer from the Santiago de Cali University and is a renowned environmental activist who won the Goldman Prize in 2018, which is considered the 'Nobel of the environment', for her fight against illegal mining.
[Violence and an old scandal serve as a preamble for the Colombian elections]
In his Sunday speech in Bogotá, France acknowledged that the majority of Petro's voters are Afro-Colombians, youth, women and members of the LGBTQ community.
“We achieved a government of the people, the government of ordinary people, the government of the nobodies and of the nobodies of Colombia.
Let's go brothers and sisters to reconcile this nation,"
she assured the crowd.
Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez win the presidential elections in Colombia
June 19, 202202:10
Márquez Mina is also a working class woman.
She was a live-in maid and worked in gold mines to support her children.
Her work defending the rights of the regions also led her to suffer armed violence, in 2019 she was the victim of an attack as a result of her activism.
Among her duties as vice president will be to ensure the protection of human rights, a role that she said she will perform "in the communities."