I wanted my first reflections post to be another, which I already have in draft, but this I had to get it out first because of relevance in the time we are living in Colombia.
Well, for those who read to me from other parts of the world, in my beloved Colombia the presidential elections just passed and they were agitated, polarized, full of activism, discussions, but, in the end, very interesting. For the first time, I had an activity in social networks that was based almost 100% on politics. I, before, like several people, decided not to have many political views in social networks because I didn’t want to create a “bad environment” or for fear of “bothering” the news feed of my friends. This time that changed and I decided that yes, I wanted to flood and bother the feed of my friends with reflections, news and political videos, because I considered that doing this activism was important to help raise awareness and try to get more people to start feeling the duty to make a change in the country. Like me, more people also did activism in networks and to my delight, I saw many of my closest friends be equally active and above all, awake, aware and talking about change, environment, the rights of minorities, and so many other things that made me feel that I was not the only one wanting to see our land, so bled from war and injustice, turn the page.
Unfortunately, the result of the elections was not what I expected, the right wing won and everything that it implies, but there were things that I rescued from this long process of political activity. One of those things, and that was something that particularly caught my attention and I thought it was a great achievement within the political framework, for the first time in the history of our country (if I’m not wrong), there were women elected to be the the vice-presidential formula of almost all the presidential candidates in the first round, in fact 4 out of 5. All women were very prepared and, except for one (unfortunately the one that won), all the others were in the left-center wing, which made them women who shared my vision of the future and change for the country.
These 4 women were Claudia López, Ángela María Robledo, Clara López and Marta Lucía Ramírez. Each one more prepared than the previous one and although Claudia, Ángela and Clara were separated by their respective candidates for the presidency, they all shared, in general, a vision of an inclusive, human country and aiming for peace. This made it very exciting for me because for the first time, I not only saw women with the possibility of having the second most important position in Colombia, but I also saw representation in them. I thought, for real, that Claudia López and Ángela Robledo were better options for presidents than Fajardo or Petro, who were their respective presidential candidates, and especially Claudia, whom I deeply admire, but Colombia still far for that…
For the first time in my life I watched the vice-presidential debates and it was a delight to see Claudia, Angela and Clara López “comb”*, as we say in Bogotá, Marta Lucia and Juan Carlos Pinzón, the only man vice presidential formula, who were the more conservative representatives. I felt very happy to observe these women debating ideas of change, giving clear and accurate arguments against the corruption and the lie of the traditional model, and challenging, many times, the right-wing candidates. They were a few weeks that, in my opinion, changed history in the area of gender equity (at least during those weeks).
Now for the first time, too, we have a woman vice president, but whilst it would seem to be another achievement for gender equity in our country, the truth is that the candidate, Marta Lucía Ramírez, is not the woman who represents the advance and the struggles of women in Colombia. Her warmongering, homophobic and not very inclusive ideas, rooted in the last century, make her far from the change that our society, sick with blood and unfounded hatred, requires so much. We will spend 4 years with this woman who in spite of being the first woman vice president, is a woman who does not take us forward but rather backwards. In any case, the fact that there is now a woman in one of the most important positions in our nation is somewhat good, and this will set a precedent.
I hope, in my little green** heart, that Claudia Lopez will run for mayor of Bogotá, or better yet, that she will run for president in 4 or 8 years. She, the one that does not have hairs in the tongue*** and to which the “enmermelados”**** and corrupt fear her, she is the one that I want to see directing the country. Hopefully I will be alive to see that, or that at least another equally capable woman will rise to power and bring the country to the inclusive future, open to change and in peace, which is so desired.
* “Comb” (yes, like comb the hair): “Peinar” is an expression that is common to be used in Colombia (specially in Bogotá) when we’re trying to say that someone is more skillful or more prepared than another and does something to prove it. We also use “dar sopa y seco”, which translate “to give soup and dry (food)”… Yes, we have weird expressions.
** In Colombia there is a political party called Alianza Verde (Green Alliance), which I’m very fond of so that’s why I put the “green heart” part.
*** “Not have hairs in the tongue”: “No tener pelos en la lengua” is a Spanish expression we use when we want to say that someone is very blunt and direct when is saying something. I found a nice English article that explains this https://www.citylifemadrid.com/odd-spanish-expressions-no-tener-pelos-en-la-lengua/
**** “Enmermelado”: It literally means “in the marmalade/jam” and is a colombian expression we use when we want to say a politician have received corrupt shares/money from the government.
