Justice Ruling Threatens Colombia’s Ministry of Equality

Controversy has arisen in Colombia over the Ministry of Equality and Equity, after less than a year and a half of operation. After recent complaints over its scarce activity and low budget expenditure, the justice system is now questioning its existence due to a formal defect. This was communicated yesterday, May 8, by the Constitutional Court, arguing that the creation process of the ministry in 2023 undermined the fiscal impact. The high court granted a term of two years to regulate this issue or eliminate the ministry headed by Vice President Francia Márquez.

In practical terms, this decision does not immediately annul the ministry, as it grants a term to solve the fiscal irregularities that extends until mid-2026, when the term of the current government of President Gustavo Petro ends.

An iconic ministry with little activity so far in Colombia

The creation of the Ministry of Equality and Equity was an electoral promise of the current president, Gustavo Petro, and his vice-presidential candidate, Francia Marquez.

The new ministry was officially announced in early 2023, in Choco department, bearing a strong symbolic message since it is the poorest region of Colombia, mostly populated by Black Colombians. A few weeks earlier, the Congress had approved the creation of the new ministerial portfolio by a wide majority.

“The Ministry of Equality is a reality. The voices of those who have historically been excluded will be heard. I thank the Congress for supporting this initiative,” wrote President Gustavo Petro on his social media at the time.

In its presentation, it was explained that the main objective of the ministry would be to promote the defense of the most vulnerable people in the country. Its mission would be to guarantee the rights of Colombians in all their diversities, from single mothers, children, older people, Afro-descendant communities, and LGBTIQ+ communities to excluded populations such as those experiencing homelessness or migrant populations.

“All people have the right to the same opportunities, the same treatment, the same freedoms, and the same care under the law; it is time to recognize, respect, and celebrate our diversity,” emphasized Vice President Francia Marquez, who heads the ministry.

Complaints about low usage of ministry budget

However, a year later, the low budget uptake of the Ministry of Equality and Equity was reported. From January to mid-March of this year, the ministry had only spent 0.14 percent of its budget for the entire 2024. According to a study by the newspaper El Tiempo, the majority of the expenditure was for paying workers’ salaries.

With this, the Ministry of Equality became the one with the lowest budget uptake in the entire government, despite having US$464 (1.8 trillion COP) at its disposal, a figure that ranks among the top 10 highest in the current administration. Updated expenditure figures to date show that it does not exceed 0.36 percent of the budget.

The responsible minister, Vice President Francia Marquez, justified this reality by citing the youth of her portfolio and the limited time available to implement projects. “If we are not investing today, it’s not because we can’t, it’s because we are building an institution from scratch,” explained Marquez. She emphasized that the creation of the ministry in record time is an unprecedented feat in the country. “In a hundred years, a ministry like the one we are creating has never been established here,” she said in her defence.

Government defends creation and continuity of the Ministry of Equality

The Colombian government’s response to the judicial notice was to defend both the legality of the ministry’s creation and its continuity. Gustavo Bolivar, the director of Prosperidad Social, was highly critical of the judicial decision. “They strike down everything that smells like social justice,” he said on his X social media platform account.

Bolivar listed a series of judicial decisions that, he claimed, were against the government. In this regard, the official mentioned the decree that ordered the reduction of electricity tariffs, the article of the 2022 tax reform “that taxed royalties on hydrocarbons,” or the sanctions against various officials, as well as the seats lost by the ruling party Historical Pact.

Likewise, Cielo Rusinque, former director of the same entity now headed by Gustavo Bolivar, questioned the court ruling, relating it to other judicial actions against the Government. “In one of the most unequal countries in the world, the Constitutional Court decides to overthrow the Ministry of Equity due to a procedural flaw, despite the fact that it is part of the government program democratically elected by Colombians. This ruling, together with that of La Guajira, leaves a feeling of confusion and contradiction with what was the constitutional jurisprudence”, argued the official.

With her references to the decree of La Guajira, Rusinque also charges against the judicial decision taken months ago that annulled the presidential decree of emergency in the region of La Guajira, in the midst of the water crisis.

The immediate future of the Ministry of Equality in Colombia

The judicial ruling argues that during the debates on the provisions of said legislation, Congress did not conduct a fiscal impact analysis of the creation of the ministry, in accordance with current laws on the budget.

In this regard, the government has two paths for the future. The first would be to present a new bill that remedies the procedural flaws during its discussion in Congress. The second would be to reassign all its functions and resources to other state entities.

Similarly, the two-year deadline granted by the judiciary for either path ensures that the ministry will not be immediately eliminated, allowing it to continue its functions until the presidential elections of 2026.