Actualidad Colombiana IN ENGLISH

Bulletin No. 399 Index

January 26-February 9, 2005
Year XXVI

Politics
The Grand 'Affair'

Politics
The Re-election of Uribe in the Constitutional Court

Human Rights
Human Rights Are 'Clogged' Between London and Cartagena

Economics
The FTAA Round Back in Colombia

Full Bulletin in Spanish (.html) and in English (.doc).

The Grand 'Affair'

The kidnapping of Colombian Rodrigo Granda in Caracas is the regionalizing of preventive security and the first stumble of the South American Community of Nations.

JAIRO LIBREROS
Political analyst and Professor of Politics of Security and National Defense,
Universidad Externado de Colombia.

On December 13, 2004, an El Tiempo editorial announced with skepticism the birth of the South American Community of Nations (SACN). It noted that two factors could turn the dream of regional integration into ‘flag waving’: Brazil’s actions and the extraordinary list of infrastructure projects. The prediction turned out to be valid, but for a different reason.

The Re-election of Uribe in the Constitutional Court

“Until now the Constitutional Court has defended the Social and Democratic State of Right contained in the Political Charter of 1991. Let us hope that on this occasion it rules wisely for the good of Colombia”.

Ricardo de Lima
Essayist

Immediate re-election, that is to say, the constitutional right of the President of the Republic of Colombia to maintain power for a new term at the end of his first mandate was approved last December in the Congress of the Republic. The debate was intense, and so were the anomalies. A senator of the First Commission of the Senate of the Republic, Darío Martinez, pointed out that he had entered 17 faults in the eight debates that are required in Colombia for constitutional reform to be passed.

Human Rights Are 'Clogged' Between London and Cartagena

“The Cartagena meeting, more than a board meeting of donors, will be a place for political debate between international cooperation and the Colombian government. Given the rough draft of the declaration that has been circulated, the so-called 'political debate' will be a gesture of flag waving”.

Diego Pérez Guzmán

The meeting of the Board of International Coordination and Cooperation for Colombia is meeting in Cartagena February 3-4. The Board, which is better known as the Board of Donors, plans to continue with the process initiated in London on July 10, 2003. More than 24 governments will be represented, with delegates from the European Union, the European Commission, the United Nations System, the Andean Corporation of Promotion, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Colombian government.

The FTAA Round Back in Colombia

Carlos Rodríguez Díaz
President of the Central Union of Workers

The Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), in our opinion, is more than just a single trade agreement, since it incorporates a range of mechanisms that, as a whole, take away rights from governments and give them to foreign companies in the areas of investments, non-discrimination, intellectual property rights, market access, public biddings, and flexibility of services.

In this sense, the FTAA guarantees the transformation of privileges into rights for the transnational companies, which would be guaranteed on the part of legislative instruments. This turns the FTAA into the law of the Republic, giving it a greater legal hierarchy than all secondary legislation of the Andean countries.

Bulletin No. 398 Index

December 9, 2004–January 19, 2005
Year XXV

Politics
An Undemocratic Plan for Re-election

Opinion
All Are Worthy

Peace and Conflict
Land and Paramilitarism in the Truth, Justice and Reparation Plan

Peace and Conflict
The Pending Issues in Santa Fe de Ralito

Full Bulletin in Spanish (.html) and in English (.doc).

An Undemocratic Plan for Re-election

RICARDO DE LIMA
Essayist

On Tuesday 30 November, the House of Representatives of Colombia approved a constitutional reform allowing the immediate re-election of the President of the Republic, which includes the current chief executive, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, who, in his electoral campaign of 2001 and 2002, always declared his opposition to immediate re-election. Nevertheless, and once in the Presidency of the Republic, he denies any cunning has occurred, but this legislative act has been denounced by members of the opposition in the Congress of the Republic throughout the past year. (1)

The original arguments were not very intelligent and actually reduce to one argument: President Uribe is doing well and requires more than four years to win the war against violence. For that reason, it would be best for President Uribe to continue governing as expressed by his Minister of the Interior, Sabas Pretelt de la Vega. The debate promoted by the opposition forced the instigators of the re-election to sharpen their arguments, which could be summarized in the following way: (i) in order to win the war, the policies of democratic security must be allowed to continue, and this can only happen if Uribe can extend his mandate by four more years, (ii) democratic political culture has advanced in Colombia, which means that the electoral campaign will be counterbalanced; the final decision will rest in the hands of the electorate, (iii) there is a system for checks and balances, and guarantees for the opposition, (iv) the control organisms will guarantee that the executive will not abuse his power. These summarize the arguments in favor of immediate re-election.

All Are Worthy

ALEJANDRO ANGULO S.J
General Director of Cinep

Where do we go from here?

2004 began with the news of negotiation with the paramilitaries and closed with the proclamation that they are being demobilized. There are some who say that this is good news: there will be less soldiers. But there are some who ask how long this breaking down will last until the build up begins again.

We still do not know everything about the demobilization, since questions on impunity have not been answered, and the chosen areas have left many doubts regarding their feasibility. Yet they insist on telling us that improvisation is the norm. But when this includes the ignorance of communities bordering sites who would benefit from an injection of manual labor, in addition to the economic insecurity of the converts into society, one has to ask oneself: where are we going?

Land and Paramilitarism in the Truth, Justice and Reparation Plan (1)

DARIO FAJARDO MONTAÑO2

In a debate like this one, it is important to put on the table the greatest things that permit us to be consequent with what is happening in the world and with the experiences that we consider useful for building what we believe is our common denominator: a viable country.

The subject of land and, specifically, the concentration of land ownership, is a very old subject. Suffice it to say that the first mission of the World Bank when it came to Colombia in 1950, under the direction of Professor Lauchlin Currie, indicated that, indeed, the concentration of land property was one of the greatest obstacles for the country's development.

The Pending Issues in Santa Fe de Ralito

AN OPEN LETTER TO MARIO CALDERóN*
LUIS EDUARDO CELIS

December 1st was the two-year anniversary of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) agreeing to a two-year cease-fire. Two years are an important amount of time for a process of dialogue and negotiation, and also for the opportunity to read up on some fundamental subjects.

We can differentiate between procedural subjects, referred to as those which generate the conditions which make possible a legitimate, dynamic and irreversible process; amongst these subjects are the cessation of hostilities and cease-fire, concentration, international support, citizen participation and information, truthfulness, happiness, and quality.