Twenty-four hours after his arrival in power and with public attention focused on his bombastic inaugural event, President Gustavo Petro made two appointments that sparked controversy. The president sent the country two forceful messages of change this Saturday with the appointment of Gloria Inés Ramírez as Minister of Labor, and Irene Vélez as Minister of Mines and Energy.
Petro had spent two weeks without publicly decanting his ministerial appointments because, according to his close circle, he was still putting together the puzzle to give representation to the parties that supported him. After 15 days in silence, this Saturday the president-elect held a ‘nominee’ in which the resumes of Ramírez and Vélez stood out.
What is most striking about these appointments is that the next president will begin his government with a left-wing trade unionist who openly admires Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro at the head of the Labor portfolio, and at the head of the Ministry of Mines and Energy a professional university professor in Philosophy, who has studied environmental conflicts in the country.
Petro made a risky move with these two appointments, since the two aforementioned ministries are strategic in promoting policies and strategies for job creation and energy self-sufficiency in the country.
The delay in making these appointments was not fortuitous and seemed strategic, since the controversy they would unleash was evident.
And for today, when public opinion is focused on the inauguration event, it is expected that he will announce other ministers, among which would be the political quotas (see attached note) that he would deliver to the traditional parties such as the Liberal, Conservative, Alianza Verde and the u
The activist in Minas
Irene Vélez, who will occupy the Ministry of Mines and Energy, defined herself as a full professor at the Universidad del Valle and as an “activist dedicated to the critical and participatory study of environmental and agrarian conflicts.”
“My training -adds the official- is interdisciplinary in social sciences, with a doctorate in political geography, a master’s degree in cultural studies and an undergraduate degree in philosophy (…)”.
“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 (…)” , he concluded.
Meanwhile, he thanked Petro for the appointment and assured that he will push the energy transition and ensure the care of “the big house”.
What is at stake
It is worth mentioning that this was one of the appointments that kept various sectors on the lookout. Among them, to the actors of the capital market because the oil policy is a cornerstone for the financial stability of the country.
Petro was emphatic during his campaign when he argued that no new oil exploration contracts would be signed during his mandate and that position, for example, has hit Ecopetrol, whose share fell almost 37% between April and the end of July.
It should be remembered that the activities of the hydrocarbon sector, according to the Chamber of Energy, Gas and Oil (Campetrol) contribute about 38% to the total generation of wealth in Colombia. That works out to about $424 billion; represented in royalties, taxes and exports, just to mention a few.
Additionally, oil revenues, according to Fitch Ratings, have traditionally represented close to 10% of the Nation’s current income, money that is then used to supply collective goods and pay the debt.
Due to the above, there are several experts who have emphasized that the energy transition must be promoted, but in a responsible manner, because if the crude consumed and exported is not replaced, the country would lose two things: energy sovereignty and income. of millions of dollars to the public coffers.
What the analysts say
Gregorio Gandini, a financial market analyst, pointed out that Vélez “has an environmentalist edge and seems to be a very clear sign that the aforementioned energy transition is serious and that not only oil would be put on the back burner, but also mining.”
In line with all this, from his point of view, “what really ends up causing anxiety is not knowing how much experience they have in the sector. The market is a bit sensitive these days and this news may not be well received”.
Andrés Moreno, analyst and advisor certified by the Securities Market Self-Regulator (AMV), agreed on this, considering that “regardless of whether Vélez is an environmentalist, the question is how much he knows about the evolution of hydrocarbons and if he has the strength to manage the entire mining policy of the country.”
Thus, it will be necessary to wait until Monday to see how Ecopetrol’s stock will behave, which depends on expectations about oil policy. Likewise, with the opening of the market it will be known if there is a sudden variation in the price of the dollar, which on Friday ended at an average value of $4,337, but this year it reached its historical value ($4,627) and is highly sensitive to local situations and foreigners.
Communist Flag at Work
The head of the Petro Labor portfolio will be in the hands of Gloria Inés Ramírez, a renowned trade unionist and former congresswoman who has shown political affinity with leftist governments such as those of Chávez and Maduro in Venezuela, and that of Evo Morales in Bolivia. Petro cataloged her as “a defender of human rights and the demands of workers.”
The appointment of this graduate in Physics and Mathematics, who has been a member of the Communist Party, the Patriotic Union and the Alternative Democratic Pole, could generate conflicts in the work carried out by the Ministry of Labor, since her strong trade union activism such as the one she did when she was president of the Colombian Federation of Educators (Fecode) and in the executive committee of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT) could be understood from the outset as a flag that that portfolio will have with her in command.
It should be noted that whoever is the head of the Ministry of Labor plays an active and participatory role in the negotiation that takes place every year to define the increase in the minimum wage. Minister Ramírez will have to fulfill a guiding role regarding the agenda of this negotiation between unions and the business sector, and in theory she should not take a stand for any of the actors, although for years she has been closer to the former.
This designation also opens the door to a possible risk for the operation in Colombia of delivery and ride sharing platforms such as Rappi, Uber, Indriver, Didi, Beat, among others, because among their plans would be their regulation seeking to guarantee the payment of social benefits for those who are employed through these applications.
Another issue that also attracts attention is Ramírez’s radical political stance, as he has assured that Colombia should follow the path of progressive governments in the region. “We would like the ideas of Hugo Chávez, Evo Morales, Rafael Correa to be here,” he said at a public event.
It will be necessary to wait for Petro to announce in the next few hours the six ministers that are missing, among which quotas from traditional parties could be included.