High expenses and unusual power of the first lady, a problem for Petro

The elevated bills and the unusual power that the Colombian first lady, Verónica Alcocer, has, have become a problem for the president Gustavo Petrowho came to that position with a promise of change and austerity that are tarnished by the actions of his wife.

The controversy also grows because in Colombia there is no position of first lady and, therefore, it does not have established functions, which is why the wives of presidents have traditionally carried out activities “associated with social management”.

This is what the director of Postgraduate Studies in the Political Science area of ​​the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Patricia Muñoz, tells EFE, adding that generally the first ladies are also designated as representatives of the country at events abroad.

Alcocer’s expenses

The La Silla Vacía portal revealed at the beginning of the month that since the Petro Government began, in August 2022, the expenses to maintain his wife’s entourage total approximately 1,000 million pesos (about US$ 254,000).

The research maintains that the “personal makeup and wardrobe artist, professional photographer, her best friend and a personal advisor with a minister’s salary are hired by three public entities to take care of her image, her agenda and company”.

Faced with this information, the Presidency did not deny the expenditure figure, but clarified in a statement that “some agencies that make up the structure of the Presidency of the Republic have specific functions of providing administrative, security and protocol assistance to the president and his family.”

“What needs to be done is a call for austerity, a call for expenses to be managed with the greatest care because they are public resources. “Any amount that may sound excessive in carrying out these activities is seen by citizens as an amount that could have been invested in social activities,” Muñoz assured.

Representative of Colombia abroad

Alcocer is also the focus of criticism for his numerous trips abroad, including to represent Colombia at the funerals of Queen Elizabeth II and former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as well as at the coronation of Charles III as king of England. and to attend a private audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican in January of last year.

Precisely because of the latter, the Attorney General’s Office (Public Ministry) assured that the first lady should not have traveled to the Vatican as “ambassador on special mission” nor having obtained travel money as if she were a public official.

In Muñoz’s opinion, “the designation of the first lady for these representation spaces could have been carried out by other officials who do have these duties” such as the vice president and Minister of Equality, Francia Márquez.

The power behind the power

The president’s wife is also accused of having great power behind the scenes that has allowed her to place close people in important positions.

A good example of this is the Spanish Eva Ferrer, one of the first lady’s most trusted people and who was presidential advisor for Reconciliation, a position she left last year due to alleged differences with her friend.

Concepción Baracaldo was also briefly in the Government, and despite not having experience in childhood and adolescent issues, she was appointed by Petro as director of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF).

Baracaldo, who is no longer in the Government, assured in an interview with Caracol Radio in 2022 that she came to that position through an offer from Alcocer.

“I was calm at home, retired, and one day I received a call asking me if I would be interested in directing the ICBF. Verónica is the one who calls me, we are neighbors and we have known each other for a long time. I also have a relationship with Gustavo Petro because I studied with him in Zipaquirá,” the woman then stated.

The press also links her to the appointment of the dentist Carmen Caballero as president of ProColombia and to indicating other positions in offices of that state agency abroad.

Muñoz considers that all this that happens with the first lady worsens the image of the president, since her actions are “contrary to what the Government offered to the citizens and for which it was elected.”

“They build negative perceptions in citizens that can at some point break the bonds of trust that they had created with voters,” concludes the teacher.