Colombian Conservative Party presidential candidate Noemi Sanin announced Tuesday evening at a meeting in Bogota that former Mining and Energy Minister Luis Mejia will run alongside her as vice presidential candidate in Colombia’s upcoming presidential elections in May.
Mejia participated in the meeting via video conference from Mexico, stating that his policies and beliefs were consistent with those of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. Mejia said he was ready to join in the fight to defend the conservative platform.
A law school graduate, with a Masters in Business Administration, Mejia was Vice Minister of Mining and Energy towards the end of former President Andres Pastrana’s administration. Uribe named him Minister of Mining and Energy in his government from 2002 – 2006.
The Valle del Cauca businessman worked in the manufacture of car batteries and is currently working as a consultant in the oil and eneregy sector.
Sanin said Mejia is a visionary, who in his time as minister managed to instill investor confidence in the country due to the infrastructure of the energy, mining and oil sector.
The Conservative Party presidential candidate said that Uribe had called Mejia a “star” of the government.
Sanin and Mejia will officially enroll as candidates on Easter Monday, the last day for enrollment.
Recent polls indicate that Sanin, Colombia’s former ambassador to the UK, is coming in second to Partido de la U presidential candidate Juan Manuel Santos.
