Great article about our wonderful president of Colombia!

heat says on Sep 30, 2004, 16:14:

Alvaro Uribe Thanks for the article ColombianoX. Can you give me your impressions of the president of Colombia. Is he viewed positively by the Colombian people? if there is a consensus. How long has he been in office and what has he accomplished? Differences between past presidents. I'm very curious as I don't really know much about the current administration or Colombian politics in general.

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Sam Salmon says on Sep 30, 2004, 17:43:

Here's the article for those too wary to register.
I spent a lot of time when I was in Colombia collecting different opinions of Uribe's rule.
It's plain that although some people are impressed by improved security many are also very reluctant to say anything in the least negative.Uribe has some very nasty ugly supporters-people to whom snuffing out a life is like squashing a bug.These goons enjoy protection of one kind or another and are another serious problem for Uribe to deal with.
In one sense the whole Uribe in Miami show is another side of the problem.The benevolent dictator kicking ass on his bureaucrats in public can be seen as akin to Mussolini making thr trains run on time by shooting any Conductor with the ill fortune to be late.

Colombian President 'Mr. Fix It' for locals

By MICHAEL A.W. OTTEY

mottey at herald.com


Colombian President Alvaro Uribe could have earned the title ''Mr. fix it'' when he appeared Thursday before South Florida's Colombian community at Florida International University.

Uribe spent more than two hours taking questions from the audience of 500 billed simply as a ''conversation.'' While most of the questions amounted to mild complaints, Uribe tackled each one with one surprise after another.

A complaint about his pension from Ricardo Tribin, a retired international consultant who now lives in Miami, prompted Uribe to grab his cellular telephone and call the woman in charge of the pension plan. Uribe then called a stunned Tribin to the stage and handed him the telephone, as the audience burst into applause.

That scene set the tone for the rest of the event, as one after the other, participants lay problems and concerns at Uribe's feet and he tried to resolve them right on the spot by putting the individuals in touch with the right government official or at least having his staff get the person's name.

''It was a very positive way to do it,'' Tribin said afterwards. ``I'm not the only one ... 400 other Colombians in Miami have the same problem.''

A group of Colombian actors told the president that unlike other communities, they did not have a cultural center or theater to showcase their talents, and Uribe suggested that they talk to FIU to see if it could provide space.

FIU President Modesto Maidique stood up and gladly accepted the offer. The actors came forward and exchanged contact information with Lea Maidique, the FIU president's wife.

One woman complained to Uribe that her organization takes lots of toys to needy children in Colombia but she's harassed by customs on arrival. Uribe immediately put her in touch with his staff to seek a solution.

Uribe, who received a standing ovation when he entered the auditorium, also received a wide range of questions touching on security, drug production, U.S. temporary protected status for Colombians, the devaluation of the Colombian peso, human rights, military spending, guerillas and paramilitaries.

''We've been very careful not to have a government built on promises,'' Uribe said in Spanish, ``but a government that listens, examines and solves problems.''

He said that if he's asked what is the first thing Colombia needs, even in the face of its socioeconomic inequities, its slow economic growth and high deficit, its illicit drugs, and security issues, his answer would be the credibility of the democratic institutions among its people.

''I want to remind you we are working in Colombia to earn that credibility,'' he said. ``That's very important.''

He said his government has made it a point to meet with everyday people. ''We have to meet with the people,'' he said to a burst of applause.

On the question of temporary protected status for some 150,000 Colombians living in the United States, Uribe said so far the United States government has declined the request.

Temporary protected status is granted to nations in crisis and whose nationals face threat of U.S. deportations. Eight countries currently have such designation, including El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Temporary protection status expires for all three in 2005.

Human rights groups and Colombians have argued that Colombia's 40-year-old guerilla war, in which nationals face threats and persecution, should qualify Colombians to work in the United States legally.







' a la orden!'

' a la orden!'

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ColombianoX says on Sep 30, 2004, 20:11:

Heat,

Right now President Uribe has a seventy-eight percent approval rating, the highest of any latin american president! It's needless to say that he is one of the most popular presidents in the country's history. He is a hard-working leader who wants to restore peace to Colombia. Among his greatest enemies, not surprisingly, are the guerrillas, narcotraffickers, paramilitaries, and all the other scumbags who want to keep our country down. The overwhelming majority of the colombian people love him.

If you ask me, he's the only great president who stopped by FIU on Thursday.

ColombianoX

'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

ColombianoX 'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

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AmyEnMontreal says on Oct 20, 2004, 03:01:

Too bad that he only gets one term.

They should consider changing it to two terms so that they could keep him around until 2010!

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Desideria (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Oct 20, 2004, 09:55:

not everybody who isn't overly enthusiastic about Uribe and his aspirations for another term is a narco, guerrillero or a scumbag. There's actually a great disparity of opinions about him, much greater than what polls make us to believe. One of the problems is exactly that one Sam mentioned: he does have some nasty supporters (with friends like that who needs enemies). I have talked to many Colombians with moderate leftist tendencies and they are not that thrilled about him. About his personality there seems to be a consensus: a hard-working and intelligent man, basically honest and very ambitious. Flaws: authoritarian, short-tempered. His econoimic policies are not that popular in Colombia; his greatest success has been making the country safer for both it's own people and visitors. Compared with his predecessors, he's a clear improvement, though.
Sorry colombianox that I can't share your enthusiasm about Mr. Uribe.
Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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Mr. Hollywood says on Oct 20, 2004, 11:03:

obviously It's pretty obvious that a poll limited to people with phones skews toward a certain demographic. What's not obvious is how that affects the results. Who can really say if the poor or the displaced would be more or less likely to support Uribe? I'd imagine they're with him on security and possibly against him on social/economic issues.

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