The Colombian Congress has approved, after several favorable votes in the House of Representatives and the Senate, the creation of the Ministry of Equality, which will be headed by the country’s vice-president, Francia Márquez.
The new portfolio of the Executive of the president, Gustavo Petro, has counted with 139 votes in favor and eight against in the House of Representatives, by the 61 who have said ‘yes’ and the six of ‘no’ in the Senate, details the radio station RCN.
«What we are building is a path of material, real equality, this ministry was clearly missing in the public administration scenario», stressed the Minister of the Interior, Alfonso Prada, who thanked Márquez for his important participation in order for this campaign promise to go ahead.
Casa Nariño has bet on the creation of this new Ministry to implement public policies to achieve, among other things, wage equality between men and women, the recognition of work in the home as a work history, a minimum vital income for mothers who are heads of household, and benefits and property and credit rights within the agrarian reform.
The Alianza Verde representative Katherine Miranda has welcomed the creation of this portfolio as it comes to try to combat problems as «undeniable» as the wage gap that exists between men and women, or femicides.
However, for some in the opposition, the Ministry of Equality «represents more bureaucracy». This is the opinion of Uribism, which accuses the Government of not having published the costs that this new portfolio will entail for the public treasury.
