Ángela Patricia Hernández Álvarez (14 October 1990 – 1 May 2022) was a Colombian lawyer, journalist, and politician. She served in the Departmental Assembly of Santander and was a candidate for governor of Santander.

Biography

Hernández was born into a traditional family and grew up with a taste for leadership and politics. When she was appointed to the Municipal Council of Floridablanca, she was the youngest municipal councilor in Colombia. At the age of 25, she was elected to the Departmental Assembly of Santander.

Controversy with the Ministry of Education

While in the Departmental Assembly of Santander, Hernández claimed that the Ministry of National Education was advancing a "homosexual colonization" in the country's schools in response to a 2013 law that established a national teaching of school coexistence and training on the exercise of human rights. She claimed that parents in Santander had reached out to her disparaging the implementation of mixed bathrooms and uniforms, while assuring the public that she was not homophobic. However, she continued to take a stand against the idea that new customs and ideas were trampling existing, traditional ones.

Controversy on the LGBT flag in the Bucaramanga mayor's office

On 29 July 2016, the mayoral office in

Bucaramanga Bucaramanga () is the capital and largest city of the department of Santander Department, Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth-largest economy by GDP in Colombia, has the lowest unemployment rate and is the ninth most populous city i ...

made the decision to raise the LGBT flag in solidarity with the community amidst homophobia, rejection, and bullying in schools. Hernández questioned the decision along with educational projects which sought to include gender ideology in classes. Because of this, she was criticized for her positions on the LGBT community while claiming that the "rights of the LGBT community are also privileges". She also claimed that the Ministry of National Education was biased and that "it imposes gender ideology on schools".

Candidacy for governor of Santander

In 2019, Hernández ran for governor of Santander with the

Union Party for the People The Union Party for the People (), or Party of the U (), is a liberal political party in Colombia. The Party is led by former president Juan Manuel Santos. After supporting the presidencies of Álvaro Uribe, Juan Manuel Santos and Iván Duque, ...

, with support from the

Colombian Liberal Party The Colombian Liberal Party (; PLC) is a centre to centre-left political party in Colombia. It was founded as a classical liberal party but later developed a more social-democratic tradition, joining the Socialist International in 1999. Th ...

, on a platform of improving infrastructure and trade and fighting corruption. During her campaign, her law degree from the Corporación Universitaria de Ciencia y Desarrollo came into question. She defended herself on her personal

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account displaying her diploma.

Personal life

Hernández was married to veterinarian Jefferson Vega Buitrago, with whom she had a son. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2020 and underwent a right

mastectomy Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer choose to have ...

. She succumbed to breast cancer in Bucaramanga on 1 May 2022 at the age of 31.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernández, Ángela 1990 births 2022 deaths Social Party of National Unity politicians 21st-century Colombian women politicians Colombian journalists People from Santander Department Deaths from breast cancer Deaths from cancer in Colombia 21st-century Colombian lawyers 21st-century Colombian women lawyers Colombian anti-abortion activists