Empowerment of Afro-Latin Americans

Francia Marquez, an Afro-Colombian, has been chosen as Vice Presidential running mate by Gustavo Petro, the leftist Presidential candidate of Colombia. Petro is leading in the opinion polls and is expected to win in the 29 May elections. 

Marquez, 39, would be the first Afro Colombian to reach such a high political position in the history of Colombia. She is an environmental crusader from the war-torn western department of Cauca, where her outspoken opposition to illegal gold-mining mafias led to death threats that forced her to flee her home. She later led a 10-day, 350-mile march of 80 women from the Amazon to Bogotá that prompted the government to send troops to remove the miners and put an end to the cyanide and mercury contamination they caused.

Afro-Colombians make up about 10% of the total Colombian population of 51 million.  
If elected,  Marquez would join Costa Rica’s Epsy Campbell Barr as one of only two black female vice-presidents in Latin America. In Costa Rica, about 8% of the population is of African descent.  
 
Brazil, of course, has the largest black population outside Africa.  But the Afro-Brazilians have never made it to high level political posts except for Pele who was made as Sports Minister and Gilberto Gil, the famous musician who was appointed as Culture Minister.
 
According to a 2015 estimate of ECLAC (UN Economic Commission for Latin America and Caribbean), the Afro-descendent population of the region was about 130 million people, representing 21.1% of the total population of Latin America. This figure is inaccurate and conservative estimate since the census figures of most countries do not go into the colour of the people and many people of African origin are shy of identifying themselves as blacks. Countries with significant African-origin population include Brazil 9%, Dominican Republic 11%, Cuba 10%, Nicaragua 9%, Costa Rica 8%, Panama 14%, Brazil 9%, Colombia 10%.