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Ecopetrol was left with a board aligned with the Government of Abelardo De La Espriella
The assembly approved the slate promoted by the Ministry of Finance to fill six vacancies on the board. According to El Tiempo, the new composition gives the Executive a near majority and leaves Carlos Suárez at the head of the board.
The board of directors of Ecopetrol was reconfigured with a near majority aligned with President Abelardo De La Espriella, after the slate submitted by the Ministry of Finance to fill six vacant seats was approved.
According to El Tiempo, three members from the Gustavo Petro era remained on the board, and six names proposed by the Government were added. Among those appointed are Jorge Alberto Jaller, ambassador to Venezuela; Ludmilla Vergara, superintendent of Transportation; and Carlos Suárez, identified by that outlet as a figure very close to the president and who will also assume the chairmanship of the board.
Camilo Manzur and Claudia Lafaurie also joined. According to the report, this new majority allows the Executive to move forward with its strategy to strengthen the company and reactivate hydrocarbon production.
The decision drew criticism. El Tiempo noted that five of the six new appointments have little connection to the oil sector, prompting criticism over their arrival at the company’s main governing body. Senator Esmeralda Hernández, of the Historic Pact, questioned in that regard the appointment of Suárez to lead the board.
Analyst Gonzalo Araujo, cited by that newspaper, said it is understandable that the State, as majority shareholder, seeks to secure majorities, although he warned that sidelining profiles with sector expertise can have negative effects.
By contrast, Víctor Muñoz, former director of the Dapre during the government of Iván Duque, said the presence of people close to the president in Ecopetrol’s leadership is nothing new and recalled precedents dating back to the administration of Álvaro Uribe. In his view, given the strategic weight of the oil company for public finances, it is understandable that the Government seeks to have trusted people in its leadership.
According to El Tiempo, the new composition could also facilitate another objective of the ruling party: consolidating the intention to appoint Joaquín Gutiérrez as president of the company.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with assistance from artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this event.
