Is a shakeup imminent in President Gustavo Petro's cabinet? These are the changes he could make in his final year in office.

August 7th is approaching, and with it officially begins the final year of Gustavo Petro's administration. As on previous national holidays, there is strong talk of possible cabinet changes. It was the president himself who sparked speculation about departures by confirming his intention to make adjustments to his team in the face of failure to meet goals during the last televised cabinet meeting.

"I'm announcing that I'm going to make radical changes. I can't find a cabinet that fulfills the government program, which is a popular mandate," was the president's position in mid-July. With these words, speculation began about who would leave the cabinet, especially because the president himself hinted at who he has reservations about during his administration.

One of the most prominent figures was Carlos Rocero, who will have barely completed four months in the Ministry of Equality. Even before the Cabinet meeting, several government sources confirmed to EL TIEMPO that he was in the running for dismissal. Some close to President Petro even pointed out that he is close to Vice President Francia Márquez—despite the rift they had over his successor—leading to Rocero being seriously considering asking for her resignation.

"And speaking of equality, Minister of Equality, what we're seeing is an internal fight within the Ministry of Equality. You're firing the officials who, at Bogotá Humana, demonstrated their worth, at risk, because they had to go into exile," Petro argued, continuing to make direct accusations against former minister and vice president Francia Márquez: "Francia's officials remain in the ministry and continue to fail to execute their actions."

The other notable figure on that council was Environment Minister Lena Estrada. The poor performance in recent months of the ministry, which was headed for almost three years by this administration's star minister, Susana Muhamad, has fueled speculation that she will not remain for much longer. So much so that the indigenous movement, from which the minister hails, came out in support of her in a statement. The current director of the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH), Irene Vélez, is strongly rumoured to replace her.

Adding to the comments that have been mounting in recent days is the president's own slip of the tongue. In a speech at the CELAC ministerial session on energy issues, he called her "my Minister of the Environment." She is expected to return to the cabinet, as she was the first Minister of Mines and Energy to leave due to the controversy surrounding some of her statements and the scandal surrounding the irregular signing of a permit for her children to leave the country.

Sources close to the government also speak of a possible departure of Agriculture Minister Martha Carvajalino. Although her work on agrarian reform has been one of the president's most notable initiatives, it hasn't been widely accepted. Those consulted said she has had disagreements with Petro over land allocation figures. Former congressman César Pachón, currently director of the Rural Development Agency, has been put forward as a possible replacement.

The latest to join this list of changes are the Ministers of Health, Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo, and Interior, Armando Benedetti. In the latter case, it would be a reshuffle: Benedetti would move to the interim Foreign Ministry, and Jaramillo to the political portfolio. The president did something similar while mayor of Bogotá, when Jaramillo moved from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of the Interior in his last year in office.

These rumors gained widespread traction this Thursday after Justice Minister Eduardo Montealegre spoke in a radio interview about "the future foreign minister, Armando Benedetti." However, the Ministry of the Interior denies these rumors and asserts that what the newcomer to the cabinet said is untrue.

This isn't the first time there's been talk of Jaramillo leaving his post. In May, there were strong rumors that he would leave the government to pursue a presidential bid. The current Superintendent of Health, Giovanny Rubiano, would take his place. It's unclear whether this would be his replacement this time.

If the rumored changes are confirmed, the Petro administration would be one step away from appointing 60 ministers in three years of office . This instability in the various ministries has been blamed for the poor execution. However, those close to the president have said that this tendency to change ministers is due to the fact that the President does not want any official to concentrate too much power in a single area and therefore seeks rapid replacements.

Juan Sebastian Lombo Delgado