In the historic center of Colombia’s capital, Bogotá, a gallery of portraits at the vice-president’s official residence displays the faces of all former vice-presidents since the country became a republic in 1886. All of them are white.
When the current president and vice-president leave office in August, the wall will include an Afro-Colombian face for the first time: Francia Márquez, 44, the first Black woman to become vice-president in a country where at least 10% of the population is of African descent.
Elected in 2022 alongside left-wing President Gustavo Petro, Márquez also became one of only three Black women to have served as second-in-command in the Americas, following Epsy Campbell Barr in Costa Rica in 2018 and Kamala Harris in the United States in 2021.
That is not the only similarity Márquez sees between them.
“The three of us were unable to take on leading roles within our governments. On the contrary, we were blocked,” she told the Guardian. “This has been a strategy of racism, and it doesn’t matter whether the government is right or left; it has happened,” she added.
Márquez said that Harris “was excluded” by President Joe Biden, and that this was one of the main reasons she lost the 2024 election to Donald Trump.
“Biden didn’t allow her to occupy a leading role that would have strengthened her leadership… The three of us have gone through the same thing,” she said.
In a rare interview at the vice-presidential residence, Márquez spoke openly about the strain in her relationship with President Petro—the two have barely spoken for more than a year—and the racism she said she had faced over the past four years, both “within and outside the government.”
“The Colombian state is a racist state,” she said.
Born in the Afro-descendant mining community of Yolombó, in Cauca, one of the regions most affected by Colombia’s decades-long armed conflict, Márquez became an activist at the age of 13, when the construction of a dam threatened her village.
In 2014, she led about 80 Black women on a 350-mile walk to the capital, which became known as the March of the Turbans, to demand that the government put an end to illegal mining, which was polluting rivers and forcing communities from their land.
Four years later, she was awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize and ran unsuccessfully for Congress.
Soon afterwards, she announced her intention to run for president. Despite her lack of political experience, she received 783,000 votes in a primary, finishing second only to the former guerrilla and then-senator Petro, who then invited her to join his ticket.
They won, Petro became Colombia’s first left-wing president, and many analysts believe Márquez played a significant role in the result.
“It felt like a monumental event,” said political scientist Ana María Ospina Pedraza, adding: “It was a historic milestone for the representation of Afro-descendant communities in Colombia, which have historically been marginalized.”
“Afterwards, over the years, perhaps her leadership was not what we had imagined,” said Ospina Pedraza.
The vice-president said it had been a “very challenging four years” for her, “as a woman and as a Black woman, in a country that is quite conservative and racist.”
Márquez said she had faced racism from the local press, with caricatures depicting her as King Kong and what she describes as “unprecedented scrutiny” over vice-presidential travel expenses. She was criticized for using a helicopter.The vice president used a helicopter to travel to a private home in Cali, which she said was for safety reasons, as well as for trips to African countries to promote Colombian exports. Local media referred to it as a “safari,” and a right-wing senator questioned whether “Swahili academies have already been set up [in Colombia]” because of the expense.
But the vice president says the racism also came from within the government. One of her first actions in office was to change the makeup of her staff, from advisers to security personnel. “There were officials who told Afro-Colombian women and men that they were only here because I was here. In other words, they were saying, ‘You don’t deserve to be here,’ and this is painful,” she said.
She has also frequently been the target of online attacks. Last March, a judge acquitted one of her aggressors, arguing that although the man had called her a “primate” in a post on X, it wasn’t proven that he intended to incite violence or discrimination against her. Márquez is appealing the ruling.
After years of visibility as Colombia’s vice president, she might be expected to seek the presidency, since the constitutional ban on presidential re-election does not apply to the vice president. But that will not be the case. While she attributes her decision not to run primarily to a “promise” to serve only one term, she acknowledged she hasn’t accomplished as much as she would have liked.
However, she doesn’t blame herself. “Unfortunately, my leadership as a Black woman became a threat to many, and I was obstructed from doing more… I heard people say, ‘If they empower Francia Márquez, she will end up being the president.’ That fear is what led to me not being given the tools I needed to deliver,” she said.
At the heart of her dispute with the president is the Ministry of Equality, whose creation was one of Petro’s campaign promises. Márquez said she spent the first two years in office dealing with a lack of funding and the bureaucratic challenges of building a ministry “from scratch.” “When I was about to show the results, I was removed,” she said.
During a televised cabinet meeting in February 2025, Márquez complained about the lack of resources and criticized the appointment of a minister accused of corruption. “Maybe this will cost me, who knows what,” she said at the meeting. It did. Days later, Petro removed her from the ministry, and since then she has held only the vice-presidential role. “I felt very sad, hurt, because I thought of my ancestors who worked and worked and worked so that others could take the credit,” she said.
Petro did not respond to requests for an interview. Márquez said she maintains “a relationship of cordial respect” with him. “We have had differences, but I respect the president.”
Political scientist Ospina Pedraza believes that, even if she wanted to run, Márquez would stand little chance in the election, whose first round is set for May 31. Polls point to a tight race between Petro’s candidate, leftist senator Iván Cepeda—whose running mate, senator Aida Quilcué, aims to become Colombia’s first Indigenous vice president—and two right-wing candidates.Abelardo de la Espriella, seen as an outsider, and anti-abortion senator Paloma Valencia were also present.
“I believe the unique political momentum Márquez had during the elections has faded somewhat. That hope has vanished,” said Ospina Pedraza, attributing this primarily to a lack of tangible results.
Nevertheless, Márquez contends that she achieved results through initiatives she led within the government, such as significantly increasing previously modest exports to African countries.
“In a few months, in this corridor, there will be a portrait of a face not typically seen in these institutions, and that makes me proud because we—Black, Indigenous, peasant, and poor people—have built this nation. So it was worth it, just as it was worth it for my ancestors to fight so that today I do not wear shackles… My invitation is for other women to dare to occupy these spaces,” she added.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about Colombias Vice President attributing setbacks to racism framed in a natural tone
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 Who is Colombias Vice President and what did she say
Colombias Vice President is Francia Márquez a former environmental activist and the first AfroColombian woman to hold the office She recently stated that she has faced four years of significant political setbacks and obstacles which she attributes primarily to structural racism and sexism within the countrys political establishment
2 What does she mean by setbacks
Setbacks refer to the difficulties she has faced in advancing her political agenda including resistance from traditional political parties attempts to marginalize her within the government public disrespect and challenges in implementing policies focused on social justice environmental protection and equality for marginalized communities
3 What is structural racism
Structural racism refers to the ways in which societies foster racial discrimination through systems of housing education employment banking media and government Its not just about individual prejudice but about policies and practices that are embedded in institutions creating cumulative and enduring disadvantages for racial and ethnic groups
4 Why is her statement significant
Its significant because a sitting Vice President is directly naming racism as a core barrier to governance It highlights the ongoing struggles for representation and equality in a diverse country like Colombia and sparks a national conversation about power race and who gets to participate in politics
Advanced Contextual Questions
5 What specific examples of racism has Vice President Márquez cited
She has pointed to instances such as being called derogatory names facing disproportionate scrutiny and criticism compared to her peers having her role and initiatives sidelined or underfunded and encountering persistent disrespect from political opponents and sectors of the media that question her legitimacy and qualifications based on her background
6 How does this connect to her political background
Francia Márquez rose to prominence as a grassroots activist defending her community from illegal mining Her entire political identity is built on challenging the status quo and representing historically excluded groupsBlack Indigenous rural and poor Colombians Her experience in the vice presidency exemplifies the clash between this transformative platform and established political norms
7 Is this just about her personally or is it a broader issue
While personal her statement is fundamentally about a broader systemic issue
