In 2018, she was awarded theGoldman Environmental Prize for her work to stop illegal gold mining in her community of La Toma and for her community organising. Márquez led a protest march of 80 women who trekked 560 kilometres (350 miles) to the capital city ofBogotá, and demanded the removal of all illegal miners from their community.[8][11][12] In 2019, theBBC listed Francia Márquez on their100 Women list for that year.[13]
Salvajina hydroelectric dam,Cauca department in 2010
From 1994 when she turned 13, Márquez began participating in the fight against mining exploitation and the protection of the Ovejas River, which was a large and important source of water for her community.[15][16]
Companies such asUnión Fenosa planned to divert the river towards the Salvajinahydroelectric dam. Her community managed to prevent the project.[17]
Other companies, such asAngloGold Ashanti, which sought to extract gold in the region, threatening the cleanup of the river, began to invest in the community by building roads and donating school supplies. Márquez recalls that while some appreciated the company's generosity, others were distrustful, stating that.
"others among us thought that 'nothing comes for free, they must have an ulterior motive.' And there was already talk of a mining project, so we listened to our elders and said 'no' to AngloGold. The company responded by delivering leaflets to residents' homes, threatening eviction.[17][18]
In 2009, Márquez helped lead protests against attempts by thegovernment to evictAfro-Colombians, especiallyartisanal miners, from ancestral land near the town of La Toma. Theministry of the Interior had granted companies such asAngloGold the right to mine for gold in the area without consulting residents. Márquez, along with members of the community council ofLa Toma, filed a lawsuit challenging the decision. During this time, several members of the committee received death threats.Paramilitary groups subsequently targeted the community, killing several artisanal miners on the river banks. Márquez prevailed when theconstitutional court ruled in her community's favour.[19]
In 2013, Márquez became a legal representative in La Toma. She also took part in the permanent assembly inCauca, which advocated for the National Land Agency to protect territory.The following year, Márquez's community facedenvironmental damage fromillegal miners drilling boreholes near the Ovejas river, poisoned due tomercury use. Márquez again sought legal action and worked with other community members to combat environmental damage caused by illegal miners. However, in October 2014, Márquez was forced to flee toCali with her children after receiving threats fromparamilitary groups.[20]
Facing increased threats fromillegal mining, Márquez organised a 350-kilometre long march fromCauca toBogotá in 2014. The March, which consisted of 80Afro-Colombian women, saw an increase in attention to illegal mining in Cauca, as well as thesocial andenvironmental destruction and suffering the illegal mining had caused in the community. The party arrived in Bogotá ten days later and began toprotest, demanding an end to the illegal mining.[citation needed]
After protesting for 22 days, Márquez, along with other representatives of La Toma, reached an agreement with theColombian government. Government officials decided to take action against illegal mining and established a task force in 2015 to deal with the issue, a first inColombian history. TheColombian security forces then began to remove and disassemble illegal mining machinery, and by the conclusion of 2016, all illegal mining apparatuses were no longer present in La Toma. Márquez's efforts and later successes earned her praise internationally and helped inspire other communities in the region to combat illegal mining. As a result of her efforts, Márquez was awarded theGoldman Environmental Prize in 2018.[8][13]
In June 2020, Márquez was elected to theNational Peace and Co-existence council, established in May 2017, to monitor compliance with the peace agreement.[23] She served as the council's president in 2021.[24]
Francia Márquez during her presidential campaign in 2022.
Francia Márquez announced her candidacy for the 2022 presidential election in April 2021, during the National Feminist Convention. The Estamos Listas[25] movement and fellow primary candidate Angelá María Robledo offered their support for Marquez's campaign.
In her campaign, she has advocated for women, Afro-Colombians andindigenous communities; who have been largely excluded from Colombian politics.[26]
In December 2021, after her campaign could not collect the necessary signatures to be an independent candidate, theAlternative Democratic Pole party endorsed Márquez's campaign.[27]
In the March 2022 primary elections for theHistoric Pact nomination, Márquez reached a historical result of 783,160 votes. This result placed her in second place afterGustavo Petro – with the second-highest vote total out of all the primary candidates.[28]
Márquez met with President of ChileGabriel Boric in 2022
On 23 March 2022, she accepted the nomination for vice president on the ticket for the Historic Pact, joining Gustavo Petro.[29] Márquez subsequently promised that if elected, she would move the vice president's office fromBogotá toMedellín. Petro announced that if victorious, Márquez's role as vice president would include bolstering equality for ethnic groups and regions facing exclusion.[30] Petro pledged to establish the ministry of equality, which Márquez would lead.[31]
In early May 2022, Márquez accused the United States and the U.S. ambassador to Colombia,Philip Goldberg, of attempting to interfere with the elections. Goldberg responded by expressing concern about "the possible intervention of other countries". Márquez's claim arose after Goldberg alleged thatVenezuela andRussia would try to interfere in the elections. She further expressed, "Although he (Goldberg) did not mention the Historical Pact or Gustavo Petro, it is obvious that he was referring to our candidacy and our political bet." Despite this, Márquez assured that if victorious, a potential Petro administration would not cut ties with the United States.[32]
During the campaign, Márquez and Gustavo Petro faced numerous death threats. In one instance, while campaigning, Márquez was targeted by laser beams from a nearby building, prompting security guards to shield her from what appeared to be an assassination attempt. In response to this and many other similar situations, 90 elected officials and prominent individuals from over 20 countries signed an open letter expressing concern and condemnation of attempts of political violence against Márquez and Petro. The letter also highlighted the assassination of over 50 social leaders, trade unionists, environmentalists and other community representatives in 2022. Signatories of the letter included former Ecuadorian presidentRafael Correa and American linguist and philosopherNoam Chomsky.[33][34]
On election day, which occurred on 29 May, Márquez's Historic Pact ticket placed first, advancing to the runoff, since no candidate received over 50% of the vote. Márquez and Petro facedRodolfo Hernández andMarelen Castillo.[35][36] Shortly after the first round, Márquez and Petro received the endorsement ofLuis Gilberto Murillo for the second round. Murillo had been the Vice-Presidential running mate ofSergio Fajardo in theHope Center Coalition, which did not qualify for the runoff.[37][38] Márquez and Petro went on to defeat Hernández and Castillo in the second round held on 19 June.[39] Upon her electoral triumph, Márquez proclaimed that the Petro administration would not "expropriate anyone". She said the most significant challenge she faced whilst on the campaign trail was racist attacks. Márquez's inauguration as vice president occurred on 7 August 2022.[40] On the other hand, due to the approval needed by Congress to establish the ministry of equality, Márquez may not assume the leadership of the proposed department until mid-way through her term as vice president.[41]
Márquez was sworn in as vice president on 7 August 2022.[50] She is also designated to take office as Minister for Women and Equality in theCabinet of Gustavo Petro.[51]
During a January 2023 speech to the UN Security Council, Márquez pledged to hold a session of the United Nations Security Council in Colombia, saying:[52][53]
"Our central commitment is to guarantee the life of the entire Colombian population, take care of those who have assumed the defense of human rights as their main cause, protect the communities that are in the middle of the crossfire".[54]
She escaped another assassination attempt in January 2023. An explosive was discovered by her security detail on the road leading to her home.[55]
Márquez was the target of great criticism, from her position as an activist and defender ofAfrorights, as well as for the living conditions that her status asvice president entails, she has also been the target ofracist attacks.[56]
Márquez with US Secretary of StateAntony Blinken in 2022
In February 2023, she was criticized for her place of residence, as she preferred to live in a private residence, instead of choosing, as usual in thevice presidents of Colombia since 1999, thevice presidential house, officialresidence for the vice president of Colombia, In contrast, she received harsh criticism from her detractors for using a helicopter as official means oftransportation. A few days later, Márquez responded days later that the president had suggested that she use ahelicopter as a means of transportation, because she was very concerned about her safety and that of her family, after she reported that she had been the target of several attacks, from which she had hopefully escaped unharmed.[57][58]
Márquez, during her speech for the closing of the second cycle of dialogues with theELN in Mexico City.
In May 2023, Márquez announced the start of her tour ofAfrica as the vice president, in search of connections betweenColombia and the African continent.[59]
On 13 May 2023 Márquez metCyril Ramaphosa andPaul Mashatile, President and Deputy President ofSouth Africa, whom she invited to be guarantors of the peace processes with theELN insurgent group,[61][62] which hours later would be ratified by the government of South Africa,[63] through President Ramphosa, also emphasized the importance of bilateral visa agreements betweenColombia andSouth Africa.[64]
Later on 17 May 2023, she met with the Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia,Demeke Mekonnen, who celebrated Colombia's decision to reopen its embassy inEthiopia after fifty years. and then on 18 May, she held a meeting with PresidentSahle-Work Zewde who greeted her with the emotional phrase "Welcome to your roots."[65][66]
Later on Tuesday, 29 August 2023, she attended her first appearance asMinister of Equality. During her first appearance beforeCongress, Francia Márquez attended a debate on the programs and resources that would be implemented from theNational Government to attend to the social programs.[72]
During her intervention in the Seventh Commission of theSenate, she defended the "Youth in Peace" program,[73] used by theGustavo Petro administration, with the purpose of dismantling the country's criminal organizations.[74]
On Monday, 4 September, Márquez traveled toKenya for the second time, to participate in the African Climate Summit.[75]
On 6–7 September 2023, Márquez visitedGhana in order to strengthen relations within the framework of the Africa 2022-2026 strategy. Márquez assured that this is the first time in the 30 years of diplomatic relations withGhana,[76] that a meeting has taken place with leaders from Ghana andColombia.[77]
On Tuesday, 3 October 2023, Márquez traveled toPopayán, Cauca, where she presided over an event called "the government listens" at the Coliseo Covered, of theUniversity of Cauca, where she, and the governor of Cauca Elías Larrahondo Carabalí, received boos from many supporters who alleged incoherence on the part of thegovernment.[80][81]
On Wednesday, 29 November 2023, Márquez held a meeting with theDuchess of Edinburgh,[82] at the Center for Memory, Peace and Reconciliation with women victims of the conflict to learn more about their reality and needs.[83][84]
On 14 December 2023, Márquez held a 40-minute meeting withPope Francis and later stated through his social networks that Pope Francis sends Colombia a message of love and joy and hope to share with the family in these Christmas. Of course, the Holy Father invites us to continue working tirelessly to achieve peace, social justice and dignity for all Colombians.[85][86]
On Tuesday, 19 February 2024, Márquez held a meeting with the Mayor of Cali,Alejandro Eder and the governor of Valle del Cauca,Dilian Francisca Toro, who during the meeting highlighted the importance of strengthening the shelters that are for when a woman is raped and has the risk of femicide. The vice president expressed her concern about the recent events perpetrated in various areas of the department and provided a balance of the cities that have reported femicides inValle del Cauca[87]
On Wednesday, 1 May 2024, Márquez participated in the day of marches for pension reform within the framework of the celebrations ofInternational Workers' Day.[88][89] Where from a platform accompanied by the Minister of the Environment,Susana Muhamad and the General Director of DPN,Alexander López Maya, she made a speech in which she referred to the people, and in which she mentioned the former vice presidentFrancisco Santos, who had expressed that the presence ofindigenous peoples in the marches was nothing more than a product of the financing of thePetro administration to which Márquez responded: "To Mr. former Vice President Francisco Santos, the indigenous people are not rented," after he had made a publication in hisX account where he said that the indigenous people were rented for the marches.[90][91][92]
In August 2024, Márquez received a visit from theDuke andDuchess of Sussex, as part of an invitation made by her to the Duchess.[93][94][95]
In February 2023, she will make her first official visit, withCuba as the selected country. This visit demonstrated thePetro administration's commitment to peace, respect, and the determination of the people. Márquez stated, "Returning to Cuba as Vice President of the Republic of Colombia, after having come a few years ago as a member of the victims' panel in the peace talks between the Colombian State and the FARC, is evidence that in Colombia we are making our desire for complete peace a reality. Of course, Cuba's role in that journey has been fundamental."[96][97]
After assuming the position of Vice President, Márquez emphasized her commitment to strengthening the relationship between Colombia and Africa, a continent she called the cradle of humanity. In May 2023, she embarked on a tour consisting of three state visits toSouth Africa, Kenya, andEthiopia, which would later be known as the Africa Strategy 2022-2026. Her agenda included meetings with theDeputy President of South Africa, theDeputy President of Kenya, and thePresident of Ethiopia.[98]
Márquez is the daughter of aminer father andfarmer mother. Márquez described her childhood as "marked by spending time at my maternal grandparents' house, another time with my mother, and the rest with my paternal grandparents."[99][100]
In 2018, she was awarded theGoldman Environmental Prize for her work to stop illegal gold mining in her community of La Toma and for her community organising.[citation needed]
^"Vicepresidenta Francia Márquez vuelve a África: esta vez visitará Ghana y Kenia".elespectador.com. 30 August 2023.Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved7 October 2023.Por segunda vez este año, la vicepresidenta y ahora ministra de Igualdad visitará el continente africano con el objetivo, según ella, de fortalecer las relaciones diplomáticas de ambos países. Su viaje durará siete días.
^"Vicepresidente de Kenia, Rigathi Gachagua, ya está en Colombia".radionacional.co. 11 September 2023.Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved7 October 2023.Tendrá una agenda de tres días en el territorio nacional que busca afianzar las relaciones. Su visita se da luego del viaje de Francia Márquez a su país.
^Freixes, Josep (14 December 2023)."Vice President of Colombia visits Pope Francis".colombiaone.com.Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved16 December 2023.The Vice President of Colombia, Francia Marquez, visited Pope Francis this Thursday, December 14 at the Vatican.
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