Semana,
Colombia
Obama Win Could
Cost Colombia Dearly
"Like no other government in
the world, Uribe and his cohorts pulled out all the
stops to support the Republican campaign. … It now has no choice but to attempt
to redeem itself with 'That One' (as John McCain once referred to Obama) and
his party."
By Nelson Camilo Sánchez
Translated By Liz Essary
November 14, 2008
Colombia
- Semana - Original Article (Spanish)
There are two symbolic
animals in United States politics: The elephant and the donkey. The first is
the symbol of the Republican Party, the party of Bush and candidate McCain. The
second is the mascot of the Democratic Party. The history of the donkey goes
back to 1828 when opponents of Andrew Jackson 
tried to label
him an “ass” because of his veneer of populism.
But Jackson took things one step further than his critics, using the animal on
his campaign posters.
While the entire
planet celebrates the victory of the donkey, members of the Colombian
government must be regretting months of snubbing the party of Platero’s kin [a Platero is a
small donkey ]. Like no other government in the world,
[Colombian President Alvaro] Uribe and his cohorts
pulled out all the stops to support the Republican campaign. Perhaps the only
thing missing was for them to wear McCain-Palin ’08 lapel pins, because they
did everything else: A presidential reception, a tour of Cartagena, compliments
here, flattery there . … Now, after the people of the United
States have come out en masse to punish with their votes the path of disgrace
that Republicans have led that country and the world down for the past eight
years, Uribe’s government has no choice but to attempt to redeem itself with
“That One” (as John McCain once referred to Obama) and his party.
'Visit By
McCain'
[El Espectador, Colombia]
Indeed, once the
Bush-Uribe marriage ends, two themes that have
obsessed the Uribe government could change: the
approval of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement and
the continuation of Plan Colombia . Losing the prize of the free trade
agreement is what hurts the government most. Both Obama and spokesmen for his
party in Congress have committed to passing the agreement, but only if it meets
a standard on certain human rights, especially those relating to the rights of
union workers and members of the Afro-Colombian community.
Therefore despite
the Colombian government’s optimism, it is unlikely that the Democratic Party
will budge on these issues and give the green light to the treaty. Statistics
help explain the situation. As The New York Times puts it, this is the first time in 40
years (since the government of Lyndon Johnson) that a Democratic president
won’t have to occupy his time defending himself against Republican majorities
in Congress. In fact, Obama will be the first Democratic president since Jimmy
Carter in 1976 to have a substantial Congressional majority that supports his
agenda. Even with a timid majority, the Democrats have
been able to thwart any kind of agreement - contrary to what Uribe and Bush were seeking - and now that members of this
party have the frying pan by the handle, it’s highly unlikely that the picture
will change.
Senator
John McCain, wife Cindy and Senator Joe Lieberman
join Colombia President Uribe on a 'campaign stop', July 3.
What can be
forecast is greater interest from the United States in whether Colombia is
complying with its human rights commitments (as far as the our two-party system
and the geostrategic interests of those in power will permit, let's not lie to
ourselves). And in this regard, several fishy-smelling issues will receive
greater scrutiny from The North: for example, allegations of
extrajudicial executions attributed to members of the security forces and the
government’s mockery of the rights of victims of the conflict [the decades-long
civil war against left-wing rebels]. A lack of action in these issues, now more
than before, may produce a hardening in the human rights certification process
for Colombia, and more stringent conditions when it comes to disbursing more
military aid.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
This experience
will no doubt remind President Uribe and members of
his cabinet that it’s better to saddle up the donkey before attempting to
mount. To avoid repeating the same blunder, the government has the alternative
of taking Obama’s election not as a tragedy that has altered its plans, but as
a political opportunity to correct course and adopt a sincere commitment to
human rights matters, among other issues that the new administration will
examine under a microscope.
CLICK HERE FOR SPANISH
VERSION
[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US November 24, 12:19am]
