Verónica Alcocer

Verónica Alcocer García (born 26 May 1976) is the current First Lady of Colombia since August 7, 2022, as the wife of President Gustavo Petro.

She has law studies, Alcocer has become a voice of the most vulnerable communities. Alcocer is the first wife of a president to have a leading role in the government on par with her husband.

Born in Sincelejo, Sucre, where she grew up and later would have a son from a first relationship, named Nicolas, she would later marry Gustavo Petro in 2011, becoming the stepmother of Andres, Nicolas and Andrea, two children from the first and second marriage of Gustavo Petro. Alcocer and her husband also have two daughters together, Sofía and Antonella about whom there is little information. She has been an ambassador clinging to culture and what the folklore of Colombian culture represents.

Early life

Verónica Alcocer García was born on May 26, 1976 in Sincelejo, Sucre. She is the eldest of three children. Her father, Jorge Emilio Alcocer, was an active member of the Conservative Party and was an admirer of former Colombian senator and ambassador to the United States Álvaro Gómez Hurtado His last name comes from Italy, where his ancestors arrived in the 1930s His mother, Elisabeth García, was a housewife and Catholic

When she was a child, she dreamed of being a wet woman, although that dream would later change with the arrival of her first child, Nicolas, the result of a spontaneous relationship, which would force her to return to her parents' house.

She is the eldest of 3 siblings, in her youth she wanted to be a nun but gave up being one, spending a few years she wanted to be an artist, and later she would enter the university to study law.

Subsequent activities

Alcocer accompanied Petro during his presidential candidacies, and it is said, she was a close adviser to him when he served as mayor of Bogotá. In addition to her political activity, she has dedicated her time to social activism, has undertaken aid programs for children, adolescents and the elderly and has stated that she seeks to give a positive image of Colombia.

She has emphasized the importance of the important role that she will play as first lady, being her unconditional support for her husband, Gustavo Petro.

Alcocer declares herself as an ambassador of Colombian fashion and design.

Role in the 2022 presidential campaign

Alcocer had an individual role in the presidential campaign of her husband Gustavo Petro, she always made it clear that her commitment as a spokesperson for the most disadvantaged was outside her.

In June 2022, a series of secretly recorded videos of private meetings of Petro's presidential campaign were leaked, in one of which Alcocer was heard saying that all female journalists slept their way to the top. Alcocer later apologized, saying that the recordings were "taken out of context" and did not represent her ideas.

First Lady of Colombia

After the victory of her husband on the Presidential election on 19 June 2022, Alcocer officially became the 34th woman to hold the distinction of First Lady of the Nation, as wife and companion of the Colombian head of state, Alcocer has assumed this distinction in a responsible way, she is sure that more than a commitment it is an entire obligation that she feels proud to exercise

After her husband's victory, she declared for a local media;

Within a week of assuming her role, Alcocer drew criticism from both her husband's supporters and detractors for adopting a white savior attitude towards the Afro-Colombian community.

Domestic iniciatives and activities

Verónica Alcocer has been active in emergency response to the constant rainfall, in the early morning of last Tuesday, November 8, she landed in Cartagena and led a Unified Command Post in which also participated Mayor William Dau the governor of Bolívar, Vicente Blel, the Minister of Labor, Gloria Inés Ramírez, the governor of Atlántico, Elsa Noguera, the director of the Department of Social Prosperity, Cielo Rusinque the Minister of the Interior, Alfonso Prada and the director of the Risk Management Unit, Javier Pava.

Foreign trips and activities

Veronica has made several international trips on behalf of the country, a fact that has displeased some sectors of the opposition, who criticize these dissipations stating that the constitution does not give this type of measure.

Funeral of the Queen Elizabeth II

After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Veronica and the Minister of Foreign Álvaro Leyva went to London as representatives of Colombia, which generated displeasure from the opposition, who argued that the first lady was occupying the functions that in her part were appropriate for the vice president, since she was the second in the order of precedence.

Several media and news sources dared to affirm that the relationship between the president and the vice president was distanced and that because of this Alcocer had opted to take her place.

Days later Márquez, expressed that the relationship with the President is the best, and that she herself had refused the possibility of attending the funeral of the Queen Elizabeth II, the vice president said in textual words that when the Minister of Foreign Affairs had proposed her to represent Colombia at the funeral she said she was not interested in attending the funeral of a representative of African oppression and slavery, taking as a reference that Great Britain was one of the most extensive colonial empires that oppressed the African race for many years, Marquez expressed that she does not feel that her place will be replaced and urged the media and the nation to take for granted that she was chosen to represent Afro-Colombians and that if she had attended the funeral she would have felt uncomfortable, because of the history and all that the British Empire represented for the black race. of her nation and to contribute from her position to the construction of peace.

Japan

Following the Queen's funeral on September 19, Veronica traveled to Japan in the company of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to attend the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on September 27, which was attended by representatives from at least 217 countries.

Later on September 29 Alcocer had the opportunity to meet with Yuko Kishida wife of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida "Mrs. Kishida expressed her appreciation to Mrs. Alcocer for her visit to Japan and her attendance at the state funeral of former Prime Minister Abe. Ms. Alcocer extended her condolences on his passing."
Kishida and Alcocer exchanged views between the two nations on issues such as cultures, gender equality, among others. They also left on the table the desire to cooperate in order to have a friendly development between the two countries.

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcocer, Veronica
1976 births
First Ladies of Colombia
Living people
People from Sincelejo
21st-century Colombian women
Gustavo Petro