Continuity for Santos

Juan Manuel Santos, elected President of Colombia

Last June 20th, Juan Manuel Santos Calderon was elected President of the Republic of Colombia with the highest voting ever obtained by a candidate. More than nine million votes backed up Santos to keep on with Uribe’s policies, and the candidate for the Party of the U (created in 2005 to honor Uribe) will take charge next August 7.

As it has been a constant in Colombian elections, the abstentionism dull the polls, where more than 29 million citizens were registered to vote, but only 44% went to do so. It was a Sunday where the rain appeared early morning and lasted until Monday’s dawn, and off course the World Cup did its own, in a country passionate about football-soccer, specially with the game between Brazil and Côte d’Ivoire.

For the third time, Colombia elects a president on second round since that measure was taken by the Constitution of 1991; in 1994, liberal Ernesto Samper won over conservative Andres Pastrana, and in 1998, Pastrana triumphed over liberal Horacio Serpa. Uribe was elected both times on first round.

National unity prevailed over change

There is no doubt that elected president’s discourse about national unity, caught on all “uribistas” sectors and some opponents, imposed over the promise to change the way politics are done, made by Green Party candidate Antanas Mockus.

During the weeks previous to the ballotage, Santos devoted his time to attract all other political parties to his campaign, from “uribistas” like the Conservative Party, the defeated on first round candidate and Uribe’s coalition dissident German Vargas Lleras, and opponents to Uribe’s government, like some militants of the Liberal Party.

“I assume office with a huge sense of historical responsibility and compromise with our motherland, because Colombians have gave me that honor. The clock of our history now shows there is a new time: the time for the national unity”, assured Santos on his acceptance speech, which took place at the Campin Coliseum in front of hundreds of followers.

Is it a victory for Uribe?

If there were to pick a winner it would be Alvaro Uribe. Probably if he would have had the chance to run for a new reelection, he would have won it. Since the Supreme Court declared invalid another reform to the Constitution to allow a third mandate of the president, the political forces in Colombia split up between those who wanted to continue his government approaches and the opponents.

Without any doubt, and just as Santos recognized on his Sunday’s speech, he owes his triumph to the current president. When the electoral campaign began on March, Uribe’s candidate was his former Minister of Agriculture, Andres Felipe Arias from the Conservative Party. Despite being involved in corruption scandals, Arias was a firm candidate over Noemi Sanin, who finally represented such party after an internal voting. She assured she would continue with Uribe’s approaches.

Then, Colombia had nine options to choose from, six of them with real possibilities. Three out of those six had some tendencies similar to those of Uribe’s: Sanin, Juan Manuel Santos and German Vargas Lleras, who also “flirted” with liberal candidate Rafael Pardo. On the other hand, Gustavo Petro from the left-wing party, the Democratic Pole, was a solid opponent to Uribe’s government and was the best out of all during the debates. Far from this discussion was Antanas Mockus, the candidate nobody gave anything for in the beginning. He ended up representing a large group of Colombians who disliked the way politics is done in the country, some “uribistas” and some not. His most important strategy was the use of new media and technology, similar to what Obama did on the U.S, which caught the attention of new voters, and made Mockus enter the top 10 most liked politicians on Facebook.

For the runoff-voting competition, the two other Uribe’s affiliates (Sanin and Vargas) and some liberals joined Santos, leaving Mockus with only one alliance option, Petro, the left-wing candidate. Different to what many think, Mockus is a right-wing philosopher and rejected any link to the Democratic Pole leader.

Even though, Santos won with a huge margin supported by Uribe’s political force, there is a hard task in hand for him. The national unity means he is going to call every political wing to join his government, even those who dislike Uribe. An example of such condition was the over the phone dispute between Uribe and former president – and opponent to the current government – Cesar Gaviria, when he said he was going to vote for Santos. Immediately, Uribe called Gaviria an opportunist, and the liberal former president responded that the current government was sickening. The dilemma is now for Santos. How is he going to join forces for his national unity? How are Uribe and his loyal followers going to react, when Santos rejects any proposal from the president?

One of the most read columnists in Colombia and Mockus follower, Daniel Samper Ospina twitted on June 17: “Definitely, the only incentive to stay in Colombia is to see how Santos turns his back on Uribe and sells him off…”.

What is going to happen with Uribe, his followers and Mockus?

There are those in Colombia who think Uribe will take charge of the Party of the U so he can influence the new government, others say he is to become Santos’ advisor, and there are some rumors he wants to be Major of Bogota. But there is no doubt at all that Uribe won’t be apart of Colombian politics, because just as himself said, he’s going to take care of his “three eggs for prosperity”: national security, foreign investment and social policy.

Those who elected Santos (aka Uribe’s continuity) and specially the ones who lead many political groups, will now be on waiting line for participation on Santos’ period. On German Vargas Lleras’ side, is said that Santos already offered him the Ministry of Defense. Meanwhile, opponents to Uribe but supporters of Santos, like Cesar Gaviria, are expected to have a protagonist role on his government.

Some analysts assure that the national unity will become a bureaucracy and a position share-out, to have everyone smiling; this could be favorable or not, depending on how Santos handles it. Mockus declared on this matter “We are afraid to have a new National Front”, when the Liberal and Conservative Parties agreed to let the opposite party govern the country during terms of four years, between 1958 and 1974. That regime brought with it, among other consequences, the creation of the extinct guerrilla group M-19.

Antanas Mockus said on his defeat-recognition speech that he wished Santos the very best, and “a new and independent force is being consolidated: the Green Party”. According to Mockus, it will be a proactive opposition, which will “support the good and reject the unlawful and inconvenient” for Colombia.

Needless to say, the future of both, the Party of the U and the Green Party, is uncertain. The biggest challenge of the now government party is to keep on as a political force with its own and unique ideas, far apart from Uribe. The Green Party’s position has to be, as acknowledged by its leader, to position seeking for mayoralties and governorates throughout the country, so the three million and a half votes that Mockus conquered, are not left behind on the electoral card.

Why did Uribe’s biggest egg won on first round?

Pollsters who failed, lost ideals, fashion trends or corruption? None of that matters now. The fear that Uribe was able to instill overcame the change of course that other candidates proposed.

I do not intend to speculate or give my opinion about the kind of person Juan Manuel Santos is. Everyone, even those who voted for him know what kind of person he is. Simple and simply, I want to express how I feel about the fact that happened on Sunday May 30, when this man (Uribe’s biggest egg) won the first lap of the race for President of the Republic of Colombia.

A candidate with no ideas

We must start with the basic fact on which Santos’ political shield is on, his party. The Party of the U, so-called “National Unity” is a group of individuals governed by the parameters and the ideas of one person – what need is there to mention him?

It is the first time in Colombia that a possible future president wins the first public office in the country without having his own ideas. The blame for this is of course to the current president, Alvaro Uribe, who personalized politics in the country to a point where Santos now has almost 50% of (perceived) bias. I do not want to doubt that the exercise of democracy and the triumph of JMS was clean, I do not want to doubt.

Santos has done nothing but “boast” on every public appearance (with that slow and frustrating tonw of voice) about what Uribe did, reasons why we should vote for him. Ah? Is there anything more absurd than that? I vote for a candidate who will or has already done, a candidate who proposes workable ideas. I’m not going to waste my vote on candidate, who has a “friend” who actually did something. It is clear that everything has been done because the “biggest egg” knows what is best for him, to hide behind his mother “hen” (aka Uribe) … that is nothing new for Santos.

Sure, Santos was his Minister of Defense and very important for his Democratic Security, but I’d love to hear a single idea that comes from the head of JMS … I’m just asking for that, a very own idea of Santos … ONLY ONE!

An abstinent country

Nothing to do about it. Colombia is a country of abstainers. All retail party political campaigns seeking to captivate this unique group of people who do not care if the “little egg” is cooked, or if we can transform this country. The Green Party expected a much larger vote for their candidate without an overwhelming difference (again, I do not want to doubt), but in the end the results were conclusive. Sadly.

The strength of Mockus, young people, became the target of criticism from all political sectors. We were the most committed to the politics, were the most passionate and the most active, to the point that many people said they had never seen this phenomenon in modern times of our country. We expected a change, we fought for it to happen, and what happened? We went out with a stream of spittle and we were the group with the highest rate of abstention. How sad. If we want our country to change, if we are sucked up tired of this guy and his henchmen, why the hell didn’t we go to vote this Sunday?

Same old Colombia

If Santos does win on July 20th, there will be another four years (NOTE – suddenly eight … and even 12, where Uribe migth be trying again) of more, much more of the same old shit. He said that false positives (indiscriminated killing of innocent people in order to call them as terrorists) were behind him. Yes, of course! Look at this guy, he believes us idiots, or as the “hen” wouldsay “hen”: useful idiots.

Still, if it were true (because as I said, I do not want to doubt), who’s the boss? therefore, Whose fault is it? If there is a serious undertaking financial embezzlement, whether at the back of the Manager, he will be guilty and removed from office, and even judged by the fact. But in this case, a not so serious company (Colombia), nor the manager nor his Secretary were tried, or controversed. On the other hand, he became the most surprised and angry with the situation. Whatever, I do not want to doubt.

Another of the most infamous disputes is the latest government scandal by DAS surveillance against opponents to Uribe, our own Watergate. I do not want to talk about it in this post, because I’ll end up saying things with such anger that could insult more than one, and as the terms and conditions of this blog state, the idea here is not to insult anyone. If my readers ask for it, I will talk about the “Colombian Watergate” on another post which promise to take a deep breath.

Why did they voted for Santos?

Some people actually voted for Santos consciousness (God, I do not want to doubt, but it is so hard for me). These people stood up from their bed or sofa, walked or drove to their polling place, gave in its I.D., left their mark, and X’d the face of the “biggest egg” and the glorious Angelino (his vice president – truck driver look alike – no offense, truck drivers are awesome people), and put their voting card into the ballot box. Yes, it happened … although some do not believe, there was nothing unusual in the process I just described … or was it? (I do not want to doubt).

A large majority of these people (and I say it because I talked to some of them) voted for personal interests or convenience. As many times in Colombia, but this time against all odds, people voted against a candidate not in favor of – a candidate that would bring much benefit to this country. They voted because the family business was going to sink, with Mockus as president, or because it simply did not suit them. But, what is it that they are doing as bad as it suits them, to not have an honest president?

For a moment I’ll put myself on the feet of these people, some of which I know. If my family is in danger of being investigated, tried or you may lose your job or denounced by this or whatever reason, then why not vote for the “biggest egg” that must be cared for? But is there no other way out; again, what’s so serious that will prevent my family continue their lives as normally as they do?

The fear that Uribe injected in Colombian society was so great that today we are 15 days away to probably have his most aggressive clone coming to power. And today Arias says he wants to be Mayor of Bogotá (Oh, God … will be the subject of some other day … I better not waste my time thinking about Uribito). The guerrilla and the armed conflict itself are among the most important problems in Colombia, but they are not the only ones. In fact, these problems stem from some much more serious, lack of access to quality education, the degrading health care, social inequality (which in this government grew even more), unemployment and poor rural activity, to name a few.

Colombia succeed reaching an economic growth of 8% in Uribe’s government. Very important achievement, of course. Parallel to this event, this government’s success (I do not say it sarcastically, I really mean it), also increased inequality in the country. The Gini index in 2008 was recorded at 58.5 points, placing the country as the ninth most unequal in the world, exceeded only by six African countries, Haiti and Bolivia. So, do we want the rich to be richer and the poor getting their letfovers?

Santos campaign on Facebook, Twitter and BlackBerry Messenger

We know that Mockus swept on social networks. As some “Saints” (Santos followers) said: “Mockus won on the Putumayo, Facebook and Twitter departmanets”… hahaha… so, funny. But days before the first round Saints made some movements which deserve a section in this post.

One of my university companion to whom I will baptize “Noemi”, to not reveal real names, when the campaign began she favored Mockus, then turned to be a staunch follower of Santos – in fact, she had for her BlackBerry Messenger display the logo from the Party of the U . The week of the election, suddenly that dissimilar rasta “U” changed by a red box carrying with it the slogan “Better Is Possible” (German Vargas Lleras’ campaign slogan). Up to this point and in less than a month, Noemi, my friend, had three changes of candidate preference. I do not know who Noemi voted for, but last Sunday night being in favor of Vargas Lleras, she still filled his Facebook profile with messages like: “Now we go for it all. Santos President.” She even began to send messages on her BlackBerry which showed her great happiness because Santos had won, laughed on Mockus fans and even those who had voted for Vargas.

What happened Noemi (my friend) – couldn’t you make a suitable decision and ended up cheering for the one who was winning along the campaign?

Another message that I was captivated by its uniqueness, was one which I received in my BlackBerry, which they said we had to be very careful (as if there were a threat) with Mockus because he said he would establish the “carrot law” throughout the whole country until 2 am. As soon as it arrived, I answered back with a longer message, in which I told all my BlackBerry contacts not to be so ridiculous, was it a factor for choosing a president – we need to party until 8 in the morning brutalizing our brains off, in order to have a President who is worth it. I imagine that this thread was started by a desperate JJ.

Immediately I sent the message, one of my contacts, whom I’ll call “Pincher” wrote: “Who are you?”. Ironically, “Pincher” and I were classmates and he added me to BB Messenger over four months ago. When I was about to answer I realized that he was not in my contact list anymore. I felt so sad, so humiliated, so desolate, so overwhelmed, so anxious and so disoriented because “Pincher” had removed me from his BB Messenger contacts, I was about to throw away my phone because without “Pincher” on my BlackBerry it was impossible to keep on living.

And now … “llegó la hora, llegó, llegó”

Today, as many more, I painted my Facebook profile picture green, and although some consider that we have delirium of being Hulk and do not accept replies to their messages, then I must be blunt. We will continue struggling to feel well represented, because with the “biggest egg” as president I would feel (the word has been removed by the administrator, because he does not want to be part of the Colombian Watergate, doesn’t want his BB Messenger contacts to be hacked, blog to be closed, Facebook profile and Twitter account to be investigated, and cause danger to his mom or anyone else nearby).

Do not confuse me of being Communist or a left-wing ally. I am not, nor do I care to be. Even so, I supported the attack on the camp of Raul Reyes in Ecuador, although I know that was completely out of place, regarding international laws. Moreover, I voted for Uribe in 2006, and although I do not regret it because I did it thoroughly, I do feel very disappointed. Even more interesting, I am supporting a candidate who is a philosopher with right-wing ideologies. Yes, Mockus is a rigth-wing philosopher, do not be an ignorant.

This June 20, the only thing I invite everyone is to come out and vote, to exercise our right and not to let us put their fingers in our mouths. Even to those truly Saints, get out and vote, because that is true democracy, and above all, I DO NOT WANT TO DOUBT ANY MORE.

PS: Hopefully the “biggest egg” bursts, and we will have to clean up the country with sunflowers.