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Tag Archives: Alvaro Uribe
Colombia Post-Election Analysis – From the Top
I was extremely lucky to be in Bogota last week, meeting with bunch of different people and talking about what have been some of the most unique and exciting elections in Latin America.
I could feel the excitement from my desk in Washington. The intensity was exponentially multiplied on the steps of Plaza Bolivar. Debates, campaign [...]
Posted in Colombia Also tagged Antanas Mockus, elections, German Vargas Lleras, Juan Manuel Santos, Partido de la U, Partido Verde, Polls Leave a comment
Scare Tactics in Colombian Presidential Elections
Soft on Terrorism.
The well-worn phrase is one that the US public has grown accustomed to. Like nationalism, it is a tactic that political campaigners use in attempts to disparage one candidate while strengthening the other.
During the 2008 presidential campaign in the United States, Republican candidate John McCain accused Democratic candidate Barack Obama of being soft [...]
Posted in Colombia, United States Also tagged Andres Felipe Arias, Antanas Mockus, Campaign Tactics, elections, FARC, Juan Manuel Santos Leave a comment
Venezuelan-Colombian Relations at World Politics Review
Diplomatic relations between Colombia and Venezuela have been at the front lines since a Spanish judge accused Venezuela of assisting FARC rebels on March 1, two years to the day after a raid by Colombian soldiers in Ecuador prompted one of the worst regional diplomatic disputes in recent memory.
The accusations are hardly new; in fact, [...]
Posted in Colombia, Venezuela Also tagged Diplomacy, FARC, Hugo Chavez, World Politics Review Leave a comment
Why Not Being Disliked is as Powerful as Being Liked
I recently wrote an article for the Americas Quarterly blog in which I argued that in Colombia’s second round of elections for the presidency not being disliked may be even more of a deciding factor than being liked by voters.
Campaign Season in Colombia
Colombian President Álvaro Uribe and his allies were already taking candidate-like precautions before [...]
Posted in Colombia Also tagged Americas Quarterly, Andres Felipe Arias, elections, Gustavo Petro, Juan Manuel Santos, Noemi Sanin, Rafael Pardo, Sergio Fajardo Leave a comment
Disheartening Aspects of Colombia’s Congressional Elections
Some things may be comical when you see them in movies, yet somewhat worrying when they are part of the democracy you count on.
Such is the case with María Fernanda Valencia, Candidate for the Partido de la U, who made it to the front cover of the Colombian magazine Soho (a classier version of the [...]
Posted in Colombia Also tagged Aura Cristina Geithner, elections, Maria Fernanda Valencia, Nicolas Uribe, Santiago Morales Leave a comment
Beyond Playa del Carmen: Tourism and Diplomacy in Ecuador and Colombia
Last week’s Rio Summit between high ranking dignitaries of the Americas – The United States and Canada conspicuously excluded – produced a number of notable events:
The announcement of the creation of a Brazil-led regional bloc to convene in July 2011
Universal [...]
Posted in Colombia, Ecuador Also tagged border issues, Diplomacy, drug war, Nation Branding, Rafael Correa, Tourism Leave a comment
Election Season in Colombia
The Constitutional Court’s ruling last night blocking the possibility of President Uribe’s reelection lifted a weight off the country’s shoulders. Even Uribe, who found out about the Court’s decision through his Blackberry at a a press conference about health reform in Barranquilla, reacted with a nervous smile.
Many Colombians, who heard the news over television and radio waves [...]
Posted in Colombia Also tagged Andres Felipe Arias, elections, German Vargas Lleras, Gustavo Petro, Juan Manuel Santos, Noemi Sanin, Rafael Pardo, Sergio Fajardo Leave a comment
Colombia’s Internally Displaced: Out of Tercer Milenio Park, Problems Remain
A few weeks ago, I wrote a commentary for the Americas Quartetly Blog about a recent settlement between the Colombian government and leaders of a group of Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) who had been squatting for over four months in a park in Bogota.
1) Indigenous groups, 2) IDPs, and 3) human rights organizations have accused [...]
Colombia’s FARC rebels. Headed for defeat or hunkering down?
Withering military pressure by President Álvaro Uribe’s government has forced Colombian’s largest leftist rebel group, the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia), to dig itself even deeper into the Colombian countryside. In 2008, more than 3,000 rebels surrendered their weapons and accepted Uribe’s desertion package. The kidnapping rate has taken a nose dive [...]
On Extraditions and Colombian-Panamanian Ties