Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Tuesday (September 27th) condemned the racist insults of his Afro-descendant vice-president, Francia Marquez, during an opposition demonstration.
At the origin of the controversy, the video went viral of a demonstrator comparing Francia Marquez to a "
monkey
" in the midst of other racist insults and death threats.
“
This racist hatred is irrational (…) but they are making politics
out of it,” President Petro lamented in a tweet in response to the footage.
For the time being, the main interested party has not spoken.
For its part, "
the prosecution (...) has opened an official investigation into the subject
," a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office told AFP.
On Monday, thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of the country's main cities against the reform projects of Gustavo Petro, in office since last month.
Widespread racism in Colombia
Francia Marquez, a 40-year-old environmental activist, created a surprise during the primary elections last March by winning in front of several political figures, thus opening the way to the vice-presidency.
With Gustavo Petro, she defeated the representatives of the white and conservative elite by becoming the first Afro-descendant vice-president of Colombia, at the end of a presidential campaign in which she was the object of numerous racist attacks.
In Colombia, racism against Afro-descendants and indigenous communities is widespread.
Last August, a singer of popular Colombian music had to apologize to the vice-president after a tweet in which she compared Francia Marquez to a monkey, thus complying with a court decision.