By Natalia Rueda 
Irene Vélez, Colombia’s Minister of Mines and Energy, resigned her post following months of scandals and allegations of mismanagement. The resignation was accepted by President Gustavo Petro via Twitter, where he thanked Vélez for her work and progress made in the energy transition and the drafting of a new mining code.
In a four-page letter, Vélez thanked President Petro for the opportunity to serve in the “technocentric and patriarchal sector,” and stepped aside in order to keep the investigations against her from affecting the government’s program.
The two authorities, the Prosecutor’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office, who investigated Vélez alleged that her husband had obtained a large contract from the Colombia in Peace Fund, an organization affiliated with the Presidency. Furthermore, it was revealed that Vélez had used her influence to pressure a Migration official to sign a document that would facilitate her son’s departure from the country.
The other ten ministers that had left the cabinet during the first year were outspoken critics of the government’s social reforms. This includes Alejandro Gaviria in Education, José Antonio Ocampo in Finance, and Cecilia López in Agriculture.
Vélez also detailed 35 achievements during her 11-month tenure, including a streamlined approach to the budget, progress on energy communities, and advances made in the mining code. She also warned that “change would be easy.”
The resignation comes at a time when Petro’s government is facing strong criticism from the right-wing political opposition. After the news broke, opposition politicians seized on the opportunity to discredit Petro’s coalition, suggesting the government had failed to manage the crisis properly.
Petro, however, defended Vélez and her work, praising her for having not lost a peso and significantly advancing the country’s mining and energy policies. The president is now expected to appoint a new minister to replace Vélez, who will need to be approved by both chambers of the Colombian Congress.
Vélez’s departure marks a turbulent period for the Colombian government which has implications for the country’s energy landscape and is likely to spark further criticism of the current administration.