This is Verónica Alcocer, Petro’s wife who came to the center of the scene and could become first lady

What can be expected from the second round of Colombia? 2:48 (CNN Spanish) – Verónica Alcocer could become the first lady of Colombia if Gustavo Petro beats Rodolfo Hernández. But her agenda, a few weeks before the second round, seems to transcend her husband: she affirms that she is embarking on a personal project “trying to build a name” that has taken her to travel the country for months. Alcocer was born in Sincelejo, in the department of Sucre in the north of the country, in a right-wing coastal family with a good economic position. She, who recently turned 46, and met Gustavo Petro, 62, at the beginning of the year 2000 when he traveled to Sincelejo to give a lecture at the Caribbean University Corporation. Ella Alcocer was studying Law there, which after several attempts she never completed. In an interview with Blu Radio, she says that at first there was practically no exchange of words between them: he arrived, threw a compliment and followed her path. At the conference she was struck by her intelligence. The rest is history. As Alcocer had been raised in a conservative family, the biggest challenge for the couple seemed to be her father, Jorge Emilio Alcocer, a great admirer of conservative politician Álvaro Gómez, according to her daughter. However, despite Petro’s guerrilla past in the M-19, everything went very well. Verónica Alcocer and Gustavo Petro in an act on May 29, after the first round of the elections in Colombia. (Credit: Getty Images) That same year they got married. She had a son, Nicolás, and together they had two other daughters: Sofía and Antonella. Petro also had several children from her previous partners. They have been together for more than 20 years, years in which she, according to her, has dedicated herself mainly to caring for the family (in 2019 there was talk of her possible candidacy for mayor of Sincelejo, but in the end it did not advance). Until now. The “personal project of Verónica Alcocer García” Local media mark Alcocer’s change in 2018, when Petro was competing for the presidency against Iván Duque, regarding the fact that she can be seen in this instance. Why did she now put herself “on stage”? he was recently asked in an interview by Caracol. And her answer was: “It’s time.” She affirms that she has already fulfilled “the work of bringing her children forward” and has embarked on what she calls the “personal project of Victoria Alcocer” in which she tries, as she told Caracol, to “build a name” with activity and Own thinking. These can be “parallel” to those of Petro in the campaign, but independent. “My little girls, the two big ones, are at university. And Antonella (the little one) is super independent and responsible. So I don’t have to be one hundred percent at home. Now comes another opportunity. If I helped my children, why Why can’t I help the rest of the world? Here the thing is to serve. And if God and life decide that Gustavo is not going to be president, I’m not going to stop helping,” he said in an interview with El Tiempo, in which Two words appear to which he seems to recur constantly: serve and God. This desire has led her to spend more than six months touring the country. Verónica Alcocer accompanies Gustavo Petro after voting in the elections on May 27, 2018. (Credit: Raúl Arboleda/ AFP/ Getty Images) Telling stories about Colombia “I am passionate about telling the stories of Colombia!” says the biography of his social networks. Her first Instagram post of hers is from January of this year and since then she has shared more than 120 photos and videos. And in many cases these are not spontaneous snapshots but quite the opposite: well-edited pieces in which she combines her own words with those of those she visits and stories, lots of stories. Women are the main protagonists of her messages on networks, which combine life stories, her tours of different corners of the country, talks with entrepreneurs and the promotion of local traditions and entrepreneurship. It is an account that also has a lot of music and dance. Who is not often found among the images is Petro. There, and in her “personal project” of hers, she is the protagonist. And she even cultivates her own hashtag: #YoSoyTuAmiga. There are media that have described her as “unpretentious” and her networks realize that: she has, according to the dictionary, “extreme ease and ease in speaking or in actions.” From Teresa of Calcutta to Michelle Obama, who does Verónica Alcocer admire? The names that come up in interviews may give a clue to the type of leadership she would like to exercise if she becomes first lady. In the field of wives of presidents, Alcocer told El Tiempo that his references were Michelle Obama for her closeness and simplicity, while in Colombia he highlighted Ana Milena Muñoz, wife of former president César Gaviria (1990-1994), for her link to the culture area. Outside the spectrum of first ladies, two names come up in an interview with El País: Princess Diana and Mother Teresa of Calcutta. This second is not surprising, since Alcocer places her faith in God and Christian values ​​at the center of her message. What would Alcocer be like as first lady, she told El Tiempo that the “agenda” of her work marks “the needs of the people.” She considers that the role of the first lady has been seen as “extremely distant” and insists and promises contact and closeness if her husband triumphs over Hernández, something that cannot be foreseen due to the progress of the polls at the moment. .