Colombia names leftist engineer as new mining minister

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has appointed electrical engineer Andrés Camacho as the country’s new minister of mines and energy, following the resignation of former minister Irene Vélez last week.

Vélez had to step down after news emerged that she was under investigation by two state bodies for alleged abuse of power.

Local media had also reported that Vélez’s partner, Dutch filmmaker Sjoerd van Grootheest, had allegedly been awarded a government contract for a communications campaign thanks to his wife’s influence. 

Camacho, who studied renewable energy and most recently worked as an adviser at the ministry, will be in charge of Colombia’s transition away from fossil fuels, said Petro, who confirmed the appointment in an interview with journalist María Jimena Duzán.

Official figures show that the South American nation’s oil production stood at an average of 773,789 barrels per day in May, a 3.6% increase from the same month a year earlier.

Coal and oil remain the country’s two main sources of revenue via exports, royalties, and tax collection. There currently are more than 200 hydrocarbon exploration contracts in an area of about 170,000 sq. km, where oil and gas has traditionally been found.

This reality has led Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla to say that Colombia’s energy transition would take at least 15 to 20 years, adding the nation will continue exporting oil and coal for much longer.

Camacho, 42, is known for having a strong leftist ideology, which has led local media outlets to predict he is unlikely to embrace private investment. 

The new minister is expected to work closely with the environmental minister Susana Muhamad, who last week made public a draft decree aimed at limiting the issuance of mining titles in areas considered environmentally vulnerable.