After several media outlets confirmed that the appointment of Mery Gutiérrez as ICT minister was definitively dropped, citing sources from the Casa de Nariño, the other 3 candidates who have already been mentioned to assume the portfolio gain strength -again-.
Despite the fact that last Friday, during the closing of the 56th Banking Convention, President Gustavo Petro had ratified Gutiérrez's appointment as ICT minister, minimizing the conflict of interest, this Tuesday it was learned that, after meeting with the legal team, the president decided to rectify said decision.
As reported, among the names that President Gustavo Petro would be analyzing, and that would have the endorsement of the Partido de la U, are Malé Mallol Agudelo, Isabel Cristina de Ávila and Alexandra Falla, all with a recognized professional career in the sector. TIC.
The novel by Mery Gutierrez
The beginning of the ICT Ministry in the Government of Gustavo Petro could not have been more traumatic: the appointment of Mery Janneth Gutiérrez, announced by the president on August 7, the day of his inauguration, generated all kinds of reactions, criticisms and denunciations, and At this time, without an official announcement, it is considered ruled out that she assumes the position.
The first great criticism of the minister – not knowing the ICT sector in depth, coming from the world of television, as manager of Programar TV – was quickly diluted since this was not an impediment to assuming the position, and other ministers TIC in the past have received the same criticism and have ended up doing a positive management.
In the profile of Mery Gutiérrez, as published Impacto TIC That afternoon, It also appears that he had made a specialization in ICT management and had participated in the ministry's joint committee. The first controversial facts that were revealed about her were due to a lawsuit for 45.000 million pesos that she filed in 2016 against ICT Minister David Luna and the National Television Agency (ANTV) of course procedural fraud, libel, slander and improper conclusion of contract.
The serious thing about the matter is that demand is precisely in charge of the ICT Ministry itself, because ANTV no longer exists.
As if that were not enough, the day after his appointment, Gutiérrez's name began to have greater visibility in the media, after the journalist Daniel Coronell revealed new details of the alleged conflicts of interest to occupy the ICT portfolio.
As reported, Gutiérrez, majority shareholder of Programar TV, promised to deliver 20% of that production company to Mrs. Ruth Dary Forero, who was coordinator of the Coldeportes Hiring Group, entity that would have awarded several contracts to Programar TV.
"The situation is especially delicate because the company Programar Televisión, owned by the minister, benefited from millions of resources from Coldeportes, while the lawyer Forero was coordinator of the Coldeportes Hiring Group"Coronell reported in his report on W Radio.
"The doctor Daniel Coronell has forgotten to clarify that he is an interested party in the process that I advanced against ANTV, for the spaces of Canal UNO, which were awarded and are currently used by the Plural communications company, of which NTC is a part, a company of which Dr. Coronell is a partner»Gutierrez responded.
For all of the above, and in the midst of this controversy, it has been leaked that the Partido de la U, part of the government coalition, has recommended a list of candidates, who have received very good acceptance in the ICT sector: Galé Mallol, Isabel Cristina de Ávila and Alexandra Falla.
Some of the reactions show the complete opposite to those generated by Mery Gutiérrez among the ICT industry and the telecommunications sector even before the scandals, especially because They are professionals with extensive experience, leadership and recognition in the sector, and without scandals in their public careers:
How wonderful President @petrogustavo
Either of the two resumes submitted @IsaCrisdeAvila o @GaleMallol meet all standards of capacity, quality, efficiency and professional knowledge of the sector #TIC, who would be very calm to have a Technical Minister https://t.co/Xm8qi0BUv4- Sadi Contreras Fuset (@Sadi_CF) August 11
I know and have worked with @IsaCrisdeAvila y @AlexandraFalla postulated for the @Ministry_TIC and they are totally suitable, competent. hardworking, knowledgeable about the subject, empowered and with character. Freehand women. They just like @GaleMallol are #womenstic
– MaribelT (@Monitatr) August 12
These are the 3 candidates for ICT minister by the Partido de la U:
Gale Mallol
He currently serves as executive president of the Association of Information Technology and Communications Operators of Colombia (ASOTIC).
Mallol Agudelo is professional in finance and international relations, y government and public policy specialist of the University of the Andes.
Within her public career, she served as mayor of the town of Chapinero, was a candidate for the Andean Parliament and advisor on international affairs to the Congress of the Republic.
She was also a candidate for the House of Representatives for the period 2014-2018, under the endorsement of the Liberal Party.
But most of his career has been in the ICT sector. As president of ASOTIC, she has represented Information and Communications Technology operators before public entities and private companies, and has participated in the formulation of policies in the sector that promote free competition and benefit users.
Due to her management, her contribution to the modernization of technologies and the construction of regulations for her industry, Galé Mallol has become one of the most influential women in the ICT sector
Isabel Cristina of Avila
He has held leadership positions in the public sector, and in the last 11 years much of his work has been in the ICT sector.
In recent years, she has been manager of the .CO domain and Internet Governance at the ICT Ministry, advisor to the Single Fund for Information Technologies (FUTIC), leader of Digital Transformation of the mining-energy sector of the IDB, Seine CIO.
She is lawyer, Master in Economic Law, specialist in Telecommunications Regulation and Law, tax and administrative law University extership of Colombia.
Avila Benitez is ICT industry consultant in the formulation and implementation of public and regulatory policies, and in business innovation and Digital Transformation processes.
In addition, she is a lecturer on ICT issues and an activist on gender equity issues. She is co-founder of PD Innovation, member of the board of directors of SolarLinK, Asopostal, ICT women and the Presidential Advisory Council of Women Entrepreneurs of Colombia.
Alexandra Fails
Since 2015 she is the director of the Colombian Film Heritage Foundation, and has extensive experience in the public sector.
Zerrate fault is social communicator from the Externado University of Colombia, with a master's degree in Political Science and has a specialization in Intellectual Property, copyright and new technologies.
Among her professional career is having been a member of the board of directors of the National Television Authority (ANTV) from 2012 to 2015, deputy manager of Communications at TransMilenio and operational director of Canal Capital. In addition, she has a career as a professor of communication and media analysis.
These are the strongest nominees, but it is expected that there will be white smoke over the weekend, and there is still room for surprises and that the name of the new ICT minister is out of this list.
