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Colombian President Launches New Party

Colombian President Launches New Party

By DAN MOLINSKI, Associated Press Writer
Thu May 12, 1:54 AM ET

President Alvaro Uribe is creating a political party to formally unite his followers, who until now have been known simply as "Uribistas," but the plan is being resisted by the opposition and even some of his supporters, who worry about a political party based on one man's hardline ideals.

The party could immediately become the most potent force in Colombia's Congress, muscling out the Conservative and Liberal parties that have dominated politics for more than a century. At least 35 of Colombia's 102 senators would be part of the new party, supporters say. The Conservative Party currently has the most senators, with some 25 seats.

Underscoring the controversy generated by the plan, Uribe and his loyalists at the last minute postponed a meeting Wednesday to set up the still unnamed party. Pro-Uribe Sen. Nicolas Maloof blamed "scheduling conflicts" and said the meeting would take place next week. Observers say mounting criticism forced the delay.

Uribe — who left the Liberal Party to run for president in 2002 since that party already had a candidate_ authorized creation of the new party at a meeting last week with lawmakers from smaller parties, according to Sen. Oscar Zuluaga, another Uribe loyalist.

"He told us he's interested in uniting our forces to create a party concentrating on ideals that he stands for," Zuluaga told The Associated Press.

Uribe swept into power three years ago as an independent candidate on promises he would crush leftist guerrillas who have waged war for four decades. He has also taken a hard line on cocaine producing regions, endorsing aerial spraying and extraditing traffickers to the U.S. courts.

His four-year terms ends in 2006, and the president, whose approval rating hovers around 70 percent, wants to run for re-election.

But Congress passed a bill only in 2004 that allows presidents to run for a second term, and the Constitutional Court has not given the bill its stamp of approval, throwing Uribe's re-election ambitions into doubt.

Political analyst Vicente Torrijos, a professor at Bogota's Universidad del Rosario, said the new party would be important to push Uribe's agenda if he is barred from running — and would also be useful if he is on the ticket.

Also, if Uribe can run for re-election, the party would allow him to more easily round up regional support, Torrijos said. If he cannot run, it would allow him to handpick another candidate.

Horacio Serpa, who placed second to Uribe in the 2002 elections and aims to be the Liberal Party's candidate again next year, insisted that if a new party is created, it would have little impact. "It will be a minor party that only seeks to take advantage of the president's prestige to maintain a grip on the seats of some members of congress," Serpa said.

The plan may even cost Uribe some support.

Rafael Pardo, a leading senator who for years has supported the president, said he wants nothing to do with the new party, claiming it would be too close to Colombia's outlawed paramilitary groups.

Uribe has been criticized for being soft on the groups after opening a two-year peace process with one of them, the AUC. The groups were first created in the 1980s by cattle ranchers to guard against leftist rebels but quickly wound up waging a dirty war of massacres and killings against rebels and their perceived supporters.

By Lionheart on May 12, 2005, 14:08 in Politics & the war.

platano says on May 12, 2005, 15:05:

Anybody know the email address of the new party? I would like to suggest Ingrid Betancourt as running mate to keep the pressure on the FARC.

Plátano, el banano verde
Estudiante del Manual de Urbanidad y Buenas Maneras por Manuel Antonio Carreño
Oxigeno Verde ¡Libertad por Ingrid y los demás!

plátano

0 funny, 0 helpful.

juancegomez says on May 13, 2005, 16:23:

Actually, this news report looks quite outdated by now. The party died in childbirth earlier this week.

Somebody should have told the international press, but apparently they forgot to do so.

So apparently Uribism will remain a "large tent" for all sorts of individuals, both good and bad, with little true political unity (beyond a rough support for Uribe's government and/or ideas).

0 funny, 0 helpful.

ColombianoX says on May 13, 2005, 16:26:

"Colombian President Launches New Party"

Where do I sign up?

CX

ColombianoX 'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

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juancegomez says on May 13, 2005, 16:37:

Unfortunately, you'll have to split your application into at least 4 parts, for the foreseeable future.

0 funny, 0 helpful.