The elected president, Gustavo Petro appointed Irene Vélez as Minister of Mines and Energy. This was announced on his Twitter account.
(Also read: Alfonso Prada, appointed by Gustavo Petro as Minister of the Interior)
“Philosopher from Unal with a doctorate in Political Geography from Copenhagen. She is a woman with extensive experience in the environmental sector and who will have the arduous task of leading the transition to a non-extractivist economy,” Petro wrote on his Twitter account.
(Also: María Isabel Urrutia, appointed by Petro as Minister of Sports)
In her professional profile, Vélez says that she is “an activist researcher and full professor at the Universidad del Valle, dedicated to critical and participatory study of environmental and agrarian conflicts, examining their intersections with historical processes of ethnic-racial and social class discrimination“.
He adds that his “training is interdisciplinary in social sciences”, with a doctorate in Political Geography (Copenhagen), a master’s degree in Cultural Studies (UNal) and an undergraduate degree in Philosophy (UNal).
(Of interest: Gustavo Petro appoints Gloria Inés Ramírez as Minister of Labor)
In addition, she is a Fulbright researcher and serves as an assistant editor for GEOFORUM magazine. She is co-chair at the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), and has directed and participates in the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Biotechnological Innovation and Ecosocial Transformation – BioNovo (A1 in the Minciencias category).
(Also: Gustavo Petro: these are the details of the presidential inauguration this Sunday)
“I have worked extensively on issues related to mercury contamination in mining contexts, the impacts of the use of agrochemicals, the dispossession of water and land, food sovereignty in rural and ethnic contexts, and environmental peace as an essential dimension of the transition in the post-peace agreement”, the new minister points out in her profile.