Colombian voters elect country's first Black vice president [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

by MANUEL RUEDA and ASTRID SUAREZ Associated Press
June 20, 2022



FRANCIA MARQUEZ Credit: Darwin Torres photos

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — As Colombia’s voters put aside a longtime antipathy to leftists and chose one as their new president, they also carved out another milestone — electing the country’s first Black vice president.

When former leftist rebel Gustavo Petro takes office as president on Aug. 7, a key player in his administration will be Francia Marquez, his running mate in Sunday’s runoff election.

Marquez is an environmental activist from La Toma, a remote village surrounded by mountains where she first organized campaigns against a hydroelectric project and then challenged wildcat gold miners who were invading collectively owned Afro-Colombian lands.

The politician has faced numerous death threats for her environmental work and has emerged as a powerful spokeswoman for Black Colombians and other marginalized communities.

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