
¿Pero como así, mijo?
These are worrying times for Colombia´s ex-president Álvaro Uribe, as the political tide turns against him, the media deserts him, and the governing class close ranks behind President Santos.
Is Uribe in danger of losing his political voice?
Whether you or I support him is irrelevant, it is a simple fact that many feel a very real connection with the ex-president.He will have been dismayed then by last week´s poll that showed his popular appeal as low as 53%. Ok, not disastrous for an ex-president, but the fall of 3% between June and September is now part of a negative trend.The polls are one thing, but the national politics will be even more concerning.
Congress voted en masse in favour of President Santos´ peace talks, leaving Uribe – or at least Uribism – as the only force against them. Uribe will have hoped for more disquiet in congress, greater indication from his allies that they are with him; but for now Santos holds all the cards. The president even brought retired police chief and rumoured potential Uribista candidate for the 2014 elections, Óscar Naranjo into the negotiating team, dufusing a potential opponent.
Following the vote, last Wednesday I spoke to Colombia Reports:
“As Santos’ coalition partners rally behind the president, Uribe is in danger of becoming a lone voice against the talks.”
“However, Uribe may prove to be right and if the FARC are bluffing, then the Conservatives and U Party members still loyal to the ex-president could well swing behind their old boss, and in a blink of an eye.”
“But for now the prudent thing for all politicians to do is to support the president, to wait if and until the talks break down to strike,”
And finally, with the news last week that Pacho Santos has left his morning radio slot on RCN, Uribe has been left with precious few spokesmen in the Colombian media.
Pacho Santos was Uribe´s vice-president and has remained a fiel servant of his old boss. The morning show was seen as a counterweight to other, less Uribe-friendly output.
During the Uribe years the media was unquestionably on his side, perhaps unquestionly so. But President Santos – himself a former journalist, and of course familiarly tied to a media oligarchy – now has the vast majority of the nation´s mass communication outfits either on his side, or at least losely in his court.
Posted by Kevin Howlett from Colombia-Politics.com
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Filed under: Colombia, Política | Tagged: Alvaro Uribe, Casa de Narino, Colombia, Colombia-Politics.com, Colombianos en el Exterior, Farc, Kevin Howlett, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Santos, Uribe, Uribism |
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