2023-07-19 04:39:50
It is a fact. The Minister of Mines and Energy, Irene Vélez, is preparing everything to leave her position in the Government of President Gustavo Petro. And just as it is assumed that the president will soon receive a letter of resignation on his desk, at the same time the name of the one who will come to occupy that portfolio is consolidated. This is Fernando Vargas Mendoza, current candidate for the Governor of Santander, who had already been offered the MinMinas position for days and was even asked for his resume.
It turns out that Vargas Mendoza would be a political record of the director of Dapre, Carlos Ramón González, who would have held a meeting with the candidate in recent days to put aside the idea of reaching the Governorship of that department, in exchange he would give him a position in the Government of Petro, the Ministry of Mines.
This move does not seem unreasonable if one takes into account that González, Petro’s old friend, is currently the president’s right-hand man and even took over the duties of his former chief of staff, Laura Sarabia, after his scandalous departure. González even called to replace her when names were being considered for that position.
To this is added the political journey and strategic skills of González, who would be moving all the chips so that Irene leaves and Vargas arrives by parachute to work in the leftist government.
The truth is that this move would be on three sides because if Fernando Vargas finally decides to resign from the Santander Governorate, which is almost a fact, the way would be clear for Rodolfo Hernández, who recently made his candidacy official. That calculation of Carlos Ramón favors them, as long as Minister Irene steps aside.
An old acquaintance lands
Fernando Vargas Mendoza made his political career in Santander. He was mayor of Bucaramanga and sounds like one of the strongest chips of Petrism to reach the Governorship of that department. He has been close to President Petro whom he even campaigned to come to power last year.
Due to this closeness, Vargas Mendoza sought the support of the leftist government for his campaign for the first position or even to repeat in the mayor’s office. Precisely, his promoter was Carlos Ramón González, and his name began to be heard with force for the upcoming elections, in which former presidential candidate Rodolfo Hernández is also participating. However, González would have arrived in time for Vargas to give up the idea and turn to the Ministry of Mines.
The Minister’s controversies
It is no secret that Carlos Ramón González is an old squire who whispers into Petro’s ear, and he listens. For the sample, despite the fact that Minister Vélez has been one of the untouchable chips in the president’s cabinet, the truth is that even in the corridors of the Casa de Nariño it is heard that the official’s armor has run out, that He saved her in the midst of the controversies in which she was involved since her first month in office, and that even left her well off in two ministerial shake-ups.
His departure is so imminent that even Petro himself would have requested his resignation letter after two scandals related to nepotism and alleged influence peddling came to light, for which reason he already has open processes in the Prosecutor’s Office.
This is how the departure of MinMinas was conceived
This time the scandals went deeper for Minister Irene Vélez, who had to return to Colombia to face the disciplinary and judicial processes against her just when she was planning to join the President’s entourage in Belgium. On the one hand, both the Prosecutor’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office are investigating whether the Minister used her power to persuade Colombian Migration officials to let her minor son travel without the notarized permission required by law.
If it is verified, Vélez would face a process for the crime of influence peddling. Added to this is the controversial hiring of her Dutch husband, Sjoerd Van Grootheest, for a million-dollar sum in the Colombia Peace Fund, for which she is accused of nepotism. In a matter of hours it could be confirmed if these scandals left her without a Ministry.
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