Francia Márquez: hope, challenges and challenges

In Colombia, the political environment is experiencing a turmoil. New airs and new panoramas are on the horizon and the country's orientation shows an inclination to left-wing ideas ahead of the presidential elections on May 29. Francia Márquez, who won as the great political revelation in the March 13 primary elections, was confirmed as the vice-presidential formula of the Historic Pact candidate, Gustavo Petro.

It is important to see that the arrival of Francia Márquez in the national political arena is not a fortuitous event, nor is it a stroke of luck. It is the result of new changes within the political, economic and social reality of the country, where various factors have come together to make this situation an unprecedented moment in national political history. The emergence of the left and center-left forces as protagonists of the political debate refreshes and opens up new possibilities for the upcoming elections, and the election of Márquez, as vice-presidential formula, leads to new opportunities and challenges for the campaign to become president of Colombia.

What does the election of Francia Marquez for the Historical Pact mean?

The arrival of Francia Márquez on the lines of the Historical Pact is the result of the visibility of the demands and demand for social changes that were taking place, and which had their first demonstration in the social outbreak that occurred in the country last year.

The widespread discontent expressed throughout Colombian society favored the emergence of new citizen forces in the national political debate. One of them is the emergence of a generation of young people who are more politicized and permeated to the social needs that are being experienced at the current juncture, due to the decline in economic conditions, the precariousness of working conditions and the increased awareness of seeing and defining themselves as active and decisive political actors within the national debate. This is demonstrated in the high vote obtained by Márquez and in which a large part of his constituents were young people between the ages of 18 and 35.

Another aspect to consider is that Francia Márquez claims the role of women, as generators, caregivers and protectors of life (in all its aspects), which also includes caring for the environment, as generators of social fabric and self-care networks. This fact is not a minor fact, since for the first time women feel identified and see with the candidate for the vice-presidency, the effective way to achieve recognition of their needs and aspirations in a traditionally sexist country.

Likewise, Francia Márquez embodies the struggles for the vindication of the rights of minorities, not only of the Afro-Colombian population, but also of the indigenous, peasant and sexually diverse minorities. But this has a much deeper impact: for the first time a woman belonging to the Afro-Colombian population, with a long history of defending minority rights and the environment, has the possibility of reaching a decision-making position in the upper echelons of government, and this speaks to the country of the capacity of possibility of the transformation of political, social and economic inequality, so traditional in Colombian society, and where Francia Márquez, for the first time, gains a place of real influence in politics not from the opportunities offered by the privileged elites, but from the social journey, the defense of needs of the disadvantaged population and recognition of their long history in social struggles.

What are the challenges and challenges ahead?

The arrival of Marquez also brings challenges and challenges for the Historical Pact and for the candidate Gustavo Petro. The first of these is the vote of opinion, after the votes on March 13, Francia Márquez became the electoral phenomenon of the moment, but the vast majority of its current electoral flow focuses on the vote of opinion and the favorable public image it currently has; the remoteness from the traditional political discourse, the continuous denunciations of the practices of the country's traditional political class have generated high degrees of sympathy and identification with the population that is already tired of the corruption scandals that are known every day. But the image and favor of public opinion is very volatile, so there may be a disenchantment and cooling of the vice-presidential candidate's popularity, as happened years ago to Antanas Mockus with his “Green Wave”.

Similarly, the question should be asked: Will Gustavo Petro have the ability to transfer the votes obtained by Francia Márquez to his own campaign? This is a very important point to consider, since many of the results obtained by the vice presidential candidate were votes that supported the particular figure of the social activist and a symbol of support for the political proposal of the Historical Pact.

This creates a very important dilemma that will set the pace for the coming months: how will talks and negotiations with other political sectors take place, in order to achieve the political agreements and alliances that will secure the majorities of the Historical Pact within the congress, and more importantly, how to ensure the electoral machines that guarantee a very representative vote that will ensure the election in the first round, which is finally Gustavo Petro's main bet in the electoral contest and that of ensuring his arrival in the presidency of the republic.

This raises a big question: How is Gustavo Petro, who has a long history in the political world, going to align the discourse of Francia Márquez, which is much more controversial and directly denounced, to align these two aspects in order to reach agreements with the other political forces? especially with the liberal party, with which Gustavo Petro and his leader Cesar Gaviria have already been approached.

At this time, within all political campaigns for the presidency, the electoral calculation, and the careful measurement of the candidates' movements and public appearances, are increasingly influencing. A very interesting stage that raises many questions and that requires careful and constant accompaniment from civil society, the media and the public in general, in order to achieve a deep vision and understanding of the proposals that candidates show for the future of Colombia in the next four years.

Political scientist specializing in Public Management

Mg. Political and international studies

University teacher and analyst