A Bogota woman pled guilty to discrimination and harassment a year after mocking the race of the vice president of her country.
In 2022, the woman was caught on camera calling Colombian Vice President Francia Márquez racially derogatory term, a crime punishable by up to three years in prison.
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Márquez made history as the first person of African descent to hold this office and has faced bigoted remarks throughout her term.
Luz Fabiola Rubiano, a small business owner, is an example of this form of racialized harassment. Rubiano was accused of inciting hate, compromising Márquez and other Afro-Colombians’ right not to be discriminated against, and damaging their reputations with her vicious stereotyping.
On Monday, April 10, the woman pleaded guilty to all charges, The Associated Press reported.
In September 2022, Rubiano was recorded protesting in front of the Colombian Congress. When asked a question about the administration, the woman let loose her bigoted feelings toward Márquez and her Afro-Colombian fellow citizens.
“Apes are now governing us … Francia Márquez is an ape … what education can Black people have, they steal, attack and kill,” she said.
The footage quickly spread on social media platforms, and once the newly elected vice president was made aware, she had her lawyers file a complaint, prompting an investigation by the country’s leading prosecutors.
Spreading race-based hate is against the law in the South American country.
In 2011, a landmark anti-discrimination law was passed by Colombian then-President Juan Manuel Santos. This law legislated protection for citizens who experience acts of discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, or nationality. Should someone violate these individuals’ civil rights, they will see either parole, house arrest, or prison time, according to the National Democratic Institute.
President Santos said the law is…
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