In a month and a half of the government of Gustavo Petro, his wife, the first lady Veronique Alcocer, He has a busy schedule, especially at international level. In recent days, he represented Colombia in the United Kingdom, alongside Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva, at the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

She also attended a UN Women event in New York and is now preparing for a new mission: she will travel to Japan for the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Regarding the work of Verónica Alcocer, the former President of the Council of State, María Claudia Rojas, points out that “the National Constitution does not mention her and it is very clear that the first lady is a natural person, who therefore has no function expressly assigned to the post of first lady and does not receive any remuneration”.

Specifies that “Her functions are eminently formal to support her husband, the President of the Republic, to have charitable functions, social assistance, support, but she is not a civil servant”.

The act in which Verónica Alcocer participated about the one that generates the most doubts is the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and now that of the former Japanese Prime Minister, because according to the most critics these are functions that a civil servant such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs must assume.

“The Constitution and the law do not authorize the first lady to have diplomatic representation in Colombia”, explains Paola Holguín, senator of the Democratic Center.

During her trip to Japan, Verónica Alcocer will meet diplomats of the stature of Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States, and Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada.