CÉSAR A. RODRÍGUEZ GARAVITO*
The Republicans swept the presidential and congressional elections this past November 2nd in the United States, thanks to the conservative religious vote of the center and the south of the country, provoking one obvious question: with a second mandate for President Bush and Republican majorities in both the House and the Senate, what will the repercussions be for Colombia? In particular, what will the effect be on the subjects that have dominated the recent agenda of relations between both countries, that is to say, regarding Plan Colombia and the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA)?
Continue reading "Now What? The Re-Election of Bush and the Future of Plan America and the FTAA" »
TEÓFILO VÁSQUEZ
Cinep Researcher
Following the crisis generated by the information leaked to the press concluding that Colombia has been 'paramilitarized' and that this is the most serious problem of governability, the Colombian government and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) announced the beginning of a massive AUC demobilization as a mechanism for re-launching the process.
Continue reading "The Demobilization and Its Shadows" »
CAMILO NARANJO
On October 28, President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, through the National Council of Economic and Social Policy (CONPES), ordered by means of Decree 3550 the dissolution and liquidation of the National Institute of Radio and Television (Inravisión), citing its financial non-viability: pension liabilities that surpass 600 billion pesos. The directors of the Colombian Association of Workers of Television (Acotv) had not been notified officially of the liquidation, but they spoke out in a permanent assembly when they learned of the government's decision.
Continue reading "The Liquidation of Inravisión: Another Step in the Monopolization of Mass Media in Colombia" »
WILSON ALFONSO BORJA DIAZ
Congressional Representative for Bogotá
The re-election of President Uribe Vélez is defended by his followers as a way to extend democracy in the country. But, as 'democracy' is too generic a concept, we use a contemporary concept, coined by Norberto Bobbio in his book The Future of Democracy, to analyze such an affirmation: "Democracy is a form of government in which the right exists to participate directly or indirectly in decision making for a large number of citizens. Additionally, procedural rules allow such participation and decision making (such as the rule of the majority). Finally, conditions exist so that those called to decide or to choose who should decide, are considered real alternatives and are effective in choosing between one or the other".
Continue reading "With Re-Election... More Democracy or Less" »
