next August 7 Gustavo Petro will arrive at the Casa de Nariño to take office as the new president of Colombia. Together with him, the 18 ministers that make up the cabinet must take office. However, four days before the event, the elected president has only announced eight.
(Read: The policies that will not be maintained in the Petro government).
This could be the result of a careful selection of those who will accompany him to govern, according to Jalily Covezdy, Coordinator of the political science program at the Politécnico Grancolombiano.
“Petro needed to be very skillful in choosing his fellow government officials because he had to address issues that, in a country where the dynamics have generally been to the right or to traditional parties or questioned or criticized governability, the elections had to be very careful, very finely“, Explain.
The expert affirms that the president would also be deciding according to the conditions in which he receives the government and the needs of each sector.
For now, the following have been appointed: Álvaro Leyva Durán, for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; José Antonio Ocampo, for the Ministry of Finance; Cecilia López, for the Ministry of Agriculture; Patricia Ariza, for the Ministry of Culture; Carolina Corcho, for the Ministry of Health; Susana Muhamad, for the Ministry of the Environment, Alejandro Gaviria, for the Ministry of Education; and recently announced the person in charge of the National Defense portfolio, assigning the former auxiliary magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice, Iván Velázquez.
The appointments have been positively received due to the extensive resume and experience of the appointees.
“I think that the appointments have had to do with choosing people with a lot of experience, with enough capacity, who represent a sector of the population that was the one that led Petro to his election as president and consistent with his governance proposal,” Covezdy said.
Likewise, the president-elect has focused his attention on people who have not participated in the public governance and on criteria such as gender equality.
“I think the ministries are doing very well with the issue of change towards women, there we already see an expression of female leadership and how it is thinking about territory, peace and equality, which are very important issues for the new government”pointed out the expert.
(Also: Colombian economy: what is in green and what is in red, according to the connection).
Of the current ministries, the incoming government has proposed the creation of two more: the Ministry of Equality, that it has the functions of the Department of Social Prosperity and that it would be led by Vice President Francia Márquez. Also, the Ministry of Peace, Security and Coexistence with which one of the proposals made by the Truth Commission in the Findings and Recommendations chapter of its Final Report will be complied with.
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