Francia Márquez assures that Sergio Fajardo offered him the Vice-Presidency, but the candidate denies it

After the presidential candidate of the Centro Esperanza Coalition, Sergio Fajardo, announced on the morning of this Thursday, March 17, that Luis Murillo would be his vice-presidential formula, the former former candidate of the Historical Pact, Francia Márquez, said that she was offered that position but refused.

“I received an invitation from Sergio Fajardo's campaign to be his vice-presidential formula. I appreciate taking our struggle into account. We do not accept for 2 reasons: 1-We are the Historical Covenant and we will make change for our people. 2-In my community they taught me that the word is honored,” said the social leader.

In a matter of minutes, Fajardo himself took the step to Márquez and denied that he offered to be his partner in the race for the Presidency of the Republic and assured that he does not know who made such a request to him, he reiterated that his formula will be the former Minister of Environment and sarcastically took the opportunity to congratulate her on getting more votes that he did in the inter-party consultation on 13 March.

Reactions to the issue were not long in coming and, from Internet users related to all ideologies, to congressmen, referred to the issue. For example, Senator Angelica Lozano, who will repeat a seat for the Green Alliance and Esperanza Center, said that Fajardo's alleged invitation to Márquez would be “illegal”, so she somehow denied the comment of the former presidential candidate of the Democratic Pole.

“It's even illegal. Every candidate who competed in consultation is legally barred from registering for another electoral option or formula,” tweeted Lozano, wife of Bogotá's mayor and Fajardo's vice presidential formula in 2018, Claudia López.

For his part, Senator Gustavo Bolívar commented on his co-party's tweet and took the opportunity to challenge Fajardo that “he got fewer votes than France,” commented the congressman of the Historical Pact.

In fact, it is not the first time that Senator Petrista and one of Gustavo Petro's greatest squires have referred to the position that Francia Márquez should have in the presidential elections. First, she said that she had to wait to see the results of the consultations and now, when she saw that she got more than 700,000 votes, she considers that she is the best option to be the vice president of the Historic Pact candidate.

For now, nothing has been said about who will hold the Vice Presidency in the eventual government of Gustavo Petro, however, he himself assured in an interview with the fictional character Juampis González that he will give Francia Márquez another designation in an eventual government of his.

It should not be forgotten that the environmental and Afro leader was the third most voted candidate in the consultations of March 13, where, according to the precount of the National Civil Status Registry, she won 783,160 votes; a much higher figure than other political actors with more electoral capital such as Carlos Amaya, former governor of Boyacá, Senators David Barguil and Jorge Robledo, former Barranquilla mayor Alejandro Char and even Sergio Fajardo himself, who is now a candidate for the center.

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