Colombia could elect first black female vice-president as poll leader names pick

Francia Marquez, 40, an environmental campaigner who has survived at least one assassination attempt, is leftist Gustavo Petro's running mate

She is an Afro-Colombian environmental crusader who has faced down untold death threats and survived at least one assassination attempt to become one of the leading lights of Latin America's new left.

Now, Francia Marquez, 39, could be on the verge of becoming Colombia's next vice-president after the leftist frontrunner, Gustavo Petro, picked her as his running mate - a move that has thrilled progressives and civil rights activists across the region.