Colombia’s Petro Shuffles Cabinet for 11th Time Since Taking Office a Year Ago

Bogotá — President Gustavo Petro revealed another major change in his cabinet this Wednesday, with the appointment of Juan David Correa, a distinguished literary scholar and editor from the prestigious Universidad de Los Andes, as Minister of Culture.

Meanwhile, Ignacio Zorro, who had been serving as a minister since the last cabinet reshuffle in April, will now take on the role of deputy minister, and will also lead the music pedagogy program in Colombia’s public schools. Zorro previously served as director of the Antonio María Valencia Conservatory in Cali, director of the Bachelor’s Degree in Music at the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia, dean and founder of the Faculty of Music at the Antonio Nariño University, as well as a professor at the National University and member of the National Music Council.

Correa’s appointment marks the 11th ministerial change that President Petro has undertaken since becoming Colombia’s President nearly a year ago on August 7, 2022.

Eleven new ministers in one year

A significant cabinet reshuffle took place in late April when Petro decided to replace seven ministers, including Finance Minister José Antonio Ocampo, Agriculture Minister Cecilia López, Interior Minister Alfonso Prada, Health and Social Protection Minister Carolina Corcho. The Colombian head of state also replaced Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister Arturo Luis Luna Tapia, Information, and Communications Technologies Minister Sandra Milena Urrutia Pérez, and Transportation Minister Guillermo Reyes.

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At that time, President Petro stated: “Our commitment is always to seek the best living conditions for all citizens. Today, we are building a new cabinet that will help consolidate the government program—a program that will serve as the foundation for a candid and sincere national agreement to continue our efforts to better serve communities across the country.”

These changes are in addition to the three changes made in February, when three ministers, who had been part of Petro’s government from the start—Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria, Culture Minister Patricia Ariza, and Sports Minister María Isabel Urrutia—were also relieved of their duties.