A report on Colombia's elections:
Voters reject both president Uribe's policies and guerrillas
[11-3-03]
Catherine Gordon,
on the staff of the PC(U.S.A.) Washington Office, has forwarded a helpful
report on the recent election in Colombia
| Also:
A
report on Utne Reader’s WebWatch, dated October 30, 2003,
begins, "Last Monday's election
of Luis "Lucho" Eduardo Garzón as the mayor of Bogota and the defeat
of Colombian president Alvaro Uribe's right-leaning referendum on
fiscal and political reform is a surprising victory for the left in
violence-wracked Colombia." SORRY --
that page is no longer available.
And you might want to check out
some of our earlier reports on
Colombia. |
U.S. Office on Colombia
To: Foreign Policy Aides
From: Neil Jeffery, Executive Director
Peter Clark, Senior
Associate
Date: October 31, 2003
Re: Analysis of
Colombia's Elections: Voters Reject Both
President Uribe's Policies and Guerrillas
On October 25th a government-sponsored
referendum went before Colombia's voters, and local elections were held the
following day. The political and economic reforms in the 15-point referendum
would have limited public spending, consolidated President Alvaro Uribe's
power and introduced anti-corruption measures. According to the Washington
Post, "Uribe had portrayed [the referendum] as a vote of confidence on his
14-month administration." Uribe campaigned furiously for passage of the
referendum, but failed to turn out the 6,200,000 voters (25% of the
registered electorate) required for approval.
Voters'
rejection of the referendum demonstrates that support for Uribe -- and his
hard-line security initiatives -- is not as high as has been reported.
The results of key elections on October 26th
also demonstrate Colombians' wariness of Uribe and government-backed
candidates. Independent center-left politicians won mayoral contests in
Colombia's biggest cities, Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali, in addition to
smaller urban centers, such as the city of Barrancabermeja. In
Bogotá, former union leader Luis Eduardo "Lucho" Garzon of the Polo
Democrático Independiente party won the mayoral race with a convincing
victory over the candidate aligned with President Uribe. Garzon has been
critical of both the Uribe administration and the FARC guerrillas.
Historically, pro-government paramilitary forces have assassinated prominent
leftist candidates, including multiple presidential candidates.
Despite the setback, Uribe is unlikely to abandon his
aggressive agenda, including efforts to expand military operations, cut
spending, and pardon demobilized paramilitaries. He will continue to pursue
the referendum points related to combating corruption, seeking legislative
approval for the reforms while mending relations with his traditional
congressional allies. While most of the substance of his agenda will remain
unchanged, the election results imply a loss of momentum that may force him
to moderate his tone and public image. To that end, he may accept the
resignation of outspoken Interior Minister Fernando Londoño. The election
outcome will also strengthen Colombia's Congress, civil society, and the
Polo Democrático Independiente party as counterweights to Uribe.
Mayor-elect Garzon, assuming Colombia's second most important elected
office, is predicted to lead and consolidate the center-left opposition to
President Uribe. On election night, both leaders were conciliatory,
promising to work together in a spirit of cooperation.
By largely supporting Garzon's center-left mayoral
bid, human rights activists once again demonstrated the inaccuracy of
Uribe's recent accusations that they are "spokesmen for terrorism."
They showed their preference for ballots over bullets -- for democratic
elections rather than the guerrillas' armed approach to politics.
While some six million Colombians voted on the referendum,
nearly 12 million voted in local elections, signaling their commitment to
democracy in the face of guerrilla and paramilitary violence.
The
elections also dealt a blow to the guerrillas, as Garzon's success proved
that leftists can gain power peacefully in a democratic Colombia.
Arturo Alape, an authority on the FARC guerrillas, told the Associated
Press, "The FARC will have to receive this triumph as a warning alert,
because the political projects that favor social causes have a space in
democracy,"
Although election day was largely free of violence, the
armed conflict did impact the elections. The illegal armed groups,
particularly the FARC, threatened and murdered dozens of candidates prior to
the elections. In the northern paramilitary-dominated provinces of Cesar
and Magdalena, a substantial number of voters left their ballots blank to
protest the election of unopposed gubernatorial candidates they perceived as
beholden to the paramilitary forces. Three candidates who were jailed
prior to the elections on charges of supporting the guerrillas won their
mayoral races in Arauca and Risaralda provinces.
For more information, contact Neil Jeffery at
neil_jeffery@usofficeoncolombia.org
or 202-232-8090.
Executive Director
US Office on Colombia
1630 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite 201
Washington DC 20009
Phone: 202-232-8090
Fax: 202-232-7530
Website:
www.usofficeoncolombia.org
