Colombian Presidential
Elections Race Starts
BOGOTA (Reuters) - The race for Colombia's
presidency began on Saturday, with former
defense minister Juan Manuel Santos the
favorite after the South American nation's
popular incumbent was blocked from running
for a third term.
The Constitutional Court's decision to bar a
referendum on re-election heralds an end to
President Alvaro Uribe's eight-year rule,
during which the U.S. ally beat back
left-wing guerrillas, stabilized its economy
and drew investors.
With Colombian politics fixated for more
than a year on the re-election issue, and
polls showing Uribe would have won easily if
allowed to run, Friday's ruling represented
a starting gun for other presidential
aspirants.
"The happiest man in Colombia today is Juan
Manuel Santos," said one of his rivals in
the May 30 presidential election, Gustavo
Petro, of the leftist Democratic Pole party.
Uribe's former defense minister -- who also
held the finance portfolio in a previous
government -- is closely associated with the
U.S.-backed security policies that have made
Uribe the nation's most popular president,
and helped Colombia escape its past image
for violence and chaos.
"The continuity of President Uribe's
policies are at stake," said Santos,
confirming his candidacy and rallying
supporters. "We can't re-elect him, but
let's re-elect democratic security, social
cohesion and investor confidence."
Before the presidential vote, a March 14
parliamentary election will test the
political waters, and a certain amount of
realigning among Uribe's ruling coalition is
expected.
Uribe is expected to back Santos, who heads
the president's Social National Unity Party.
But Uribe's alliance partner the
Conservative Party could put up its own
candidate.
Sergio Fajardo, an independent candidate and
former mayor from Colombia's second city
Medellin, is hovering behind Santos in the
polls. And would-be Conservative Party
candidate Noemi Sanin could be a challenger
if the Uribe alliance splits.
GOOD FOR DEMOCRACY
"A new presidential campaign is born,"
former president Andres Pastrana said,
hailing the court's decision as evidence of
the strength of Colombia's institutions. "We
have saved the constitution, we have
strengthened democracy."
On the streets, where the Uribe re-election
saga has gripped Colombia's 44 million
people like a national soap opera, reaction
was mixed. Some said it was right for the
president to bow out, while others feared
instability.
"It's not a good thing because he was
freeing us from the guerrillas, and I'm
afraid the next one may ease up on that,"
said Bogota housewife Amanda Bellos, 43.
Economists said the political transition in
Colombia could cause a short-term wobble in
the peso currency and local TES debt
markets. But they forecast long-term
stability, with the next leader likely to
follow Uribe's broad policies, perhaps with
more emphasis on social development.
Under the conservative Uribe, foreign money
has poured back into Colombia, a top coffee
exporter and Latin America's No. 4 oil
exporter.
"We expect to witness some level of
political noise until the elections in late
May (and a likely run-off in June) but do
not expect the presidential transition to
bring about a major change in the direction
of investor-friendly macro and financial
policies," said Goldman Sachs analyst
Alberto Ramos.
While keeping up the fight against Latin
America's oldest insurgency and Colombia's
money-spinning cocaine trade, the next
leader will have to shepherd the nation out
of recession and combat rising unemployment. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
