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UPDATE: Colombia’s Majority of Coffee Committees Abstained from Voting Shortlist As A Form of Complaint

By: Diana Delgado, Contractor

 

UPDATE: Colombia’s Majority of Coffee Committees Abstained from Voting Shortlist As A Form of Complaint

 
Diana Delgado
Latin American correspondent
diana.delgado@stonex.com

Colombia’s Majority of Coffee Committees Abstained from Voting Shortlist As A Form of Complaint

(Adds comments from former FNC director and coffee analysts)

Coffee Network (Bogota)- In Colombia, the election of the shortlisted candidates to head the coffee growers federation had an unexpected outcome as ten of the 15 coffee committees abstained from voting , after the Finance Minister opposed including Felipe Robayo in the list-- the candidate who, in theory-- was better outlined for having the strength of a bloc that concentrates 65.7% of the total coffee production.

In yesterday’s election, the meeting to select the three shortlisted candidates began with a serious division. Finance Minister José Antonio Ocampo began the meeting asking the attendees to exclude Felipe Robayo, a former commercial director of the coffee growers federation from the list, Armando Benavides, from the coffee committee of Nariño told Coffee Network.

Two days ago, a total of 10 of the 15 coffee committees had sent a letter to President Gustavo Petro, asking him to form the shortlist with German Alberto Bahamon, Sandra Morelli, and former coffee director Felipe Robayo. The group sought to give a final boost to the aspirations of Robayo.

A source at the Finance Ministry told Coffee Network yesterday that Ocampo was convinced that Robayo generated division among coffee growers. As a result, he did not want to include Robayo in the list.

The 10 coffee committees that abstain from voting in yesterday’s election included the departments of Tolima, Cauca, Nariño, Valle del Cauca, Cesar- Guajira, Huila, Magdalena, Santander, Boyaca and Quindio.

The abstention reveals that there is frustration as the 10 departments did not represent their constituents.

“We are baffled with what happened, we are waiting for some presidential pronouncement so that president Gustavo Petro understands that we want a candidate like Robayo who better understands the coffee industry,” he said.

The discomfort among the 10 coffee committees is so high that during an extraordinary meeting to choose the new FNC director, they could abstain from voting or simply use the blank vote, Benavides said.

The  final shortlist of candidates was possible as Ocampo exerted all the power by having 15 of the total votes. Ocampo’s position was then backed up by the traditional coffee-producing provinces of Antioquia, Risaralda, Norte de Santander, Cundinamarca and Caldas, many of which have picked FNC’s general managers in the past. 

The Colombia’s coffee committee of the coffee growers federation has chosen Sandra Morelli, German Alberto Bahamon and Santiago Pardo in the shortlist of three candidates to compete for the head of the coffee growers federation (FNC), FNC said .

In the background of the conflict to find a replacement for Roberto Vélez from Pereira, there is a hard-fought struggle between growing coffee-producing regions such as Cauca, Tolima, Huila, whose political representation has increased.

“There is no unity among coffee-producing departments. The only candidate that unites the most is Robayo. We ask President Petro to intervene and  look at the political cost of this list,” Benavides concluded.

Coffee analysts Guillermo Trujillo said the attitute of the 10 coffee committees that abstained from voting, risks FNC's management of coffee fund."That crude and childish letter from ten coffee delegates protesting that the government voted with all rights, endangers the institutions, and forgets that at any time they can revoke the FNC's administration contract for the Coffee Fund".

Former FNC general manager Gabriel Silva Lujan said the government invested over 2 trillion Colombian pesos in the past 20 years in coffee . "Now a group of leaders with personal interests want to break the institutional and historical harmony with the government. Dangerous for the little coffee grower," he said. 

 

By Diana Delgado

 

 

 
  • Coffee

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