Colombia calls on Hincapié Ramírez to steady Coljuegos

The office of Colombian President Gustavo Petro has announced the appointment of Marco Emilio Hincapié Ramírez as the new President of Coljuegos – Colombia’s National Gambling Authority. 

The appointment was confirmed via a decree published by the governing Colombia Humana Party, nominating new executive governors to lead government agencies.

The former General Manager of the Bogota Lottery, Hincapié Ramírez is a magistrate of Colombia’s Electoral Council and a former deputy to the Assembly of Tolima,  detailed among his other previous public positions held.

2023 has seen Coljuegos disrupted by leadership conflicts and changes, amid the transition of a new government led by President Gustavo Petro taking office at the close of 2022.

In May, former President Roger Carrillo Ocampo was among senior civil servants to publicly criticize and revolt against the new healthcare funding mandate of the Humana Party.

Carrillo Ocampo had lasted just two months in the job, before being replaced by deputy Sammy Libos Zúñiga taking leadership of the regulator on an interim basis.

President Petro and La Humana Party have been accused of ‘political manoeuvring’ by opposition members to ensure that sweeping healthcare plans are fast-tracked by Congress into law.  

Since taking office in August, Petro is accused of causing ‘deliberate chaos’ within civil service ranks by demanding the resignation of officials who will not support the mandate for a full overhaul of Colombia’s healthcare system. 

Colombia’s new government seeks to stabilise Coljuegos, as Colombian gambling has witnessed four separate leaders since the agency’s founding President Juan Perez Hidalgo ended his tenure in 2020