Colombians Worship 2 Gods

CARTAGENA, Colombia — Amid all the historical information going back several centuries, the tour guide kept referring to the past six years. It was unusual, given the fact that recent history doesn't normally compare to ancient times, especially in a 475-year-old city.

But at La Popa, a hilltop convent overlooking all of Cartagena, guide Jose Hernandez kept insisting that without the recent changes in Colombia, the historical treasures of this ancient city would have remained virtually ignored by the rest of the world.

"Things have changed dramatically here," Hernandez kept saying. "Until six years ago, this city was dead. Tourists were afraid to come here. There was too much violence in Colombia, too much blatant disrespect for law and order. Yet now everything is different."

As he kept describing historical events, especially the story of the patron saint of Cartagena (Our Lady of Candelaria), for whom the sanctuary was built, he couldn't stop himself from going back to current events.

"Tourists have come back to Cartagena because we Colombians are determined to get rid of the thieves, the crooks and the criminals," Hernandez said. "We don't want them here anymore. If they don't leave the country, they're either going to jail or to the cemetery."

You could tell that he was itching to discuss Colombian politics, and yet he refrained from explaining the reasons things have improved so dramatically in this historic city on the northern coast of Colombia. He obviously didn't know how the group he was guiding would react to his political views.

That's when I decided to give him an opening. "So I guess this means that if President (Alvaro) Uribe were to run for office again, you would vote for him, right?" I asked.

Hernandez gave me a look that showed he was grateful for the question.

"In Colombia, we have two gods," he said, "one in heaven and Uribe in the presidency. People think of him as a messiah who saved Colombia from complete chaos. He has brought back the rule of law in a country that was crippled by lawlessness," Hernandez added. "I would vote for him again and again. He is the best president we've ever had."

That's not just one man's opinion. Everywhere you go in this country, people express gratitude and admiration for Uribe, who, according to the polls, is viewed favorably by more than 70 percent of the Colombian population — much better than any other president in Latin America.

Since he took office in 2002, the Uribe administration, with the support of the United States, has made great strides in reducing violence from both leftist guerrillas and right-wing paramilitary squads, which have terrorized Colombia for more than 40 years.

The stability his government has created has made the Colombian economy grow during every year he has been president.

Although Colombian presidents only were allowed to serve one four-year term, Uribe's first term was so successful that the legislature changed the rules and allowed him to seek an unprecedented second term. He was re-elected by a landslide in 2006.

Yet now that there are people all over Colombia collecting signatures on a petition urging Congress to allow Uribe to seek a third term, the president's frustrated opponents are challenging the legitimacy of his 2006 re-election.

They base their arguments on last week's Colombian Supreme Court corruption conviction of former Congresswoman Yidis Medina, who cast the decisive vote to allow Uribe to seek a second term, allegedly in exchange for government jobs for her friends.

Based on that ruling, Uribe's opponents are calling for his resignation, a laughable request to most Colombians, who believe the president had nothing to do with Medina's alleged corruption. Yet in a brilliant political move, Uribe said he would deal with the legitimacy challenge by seeking congressional approval for a referendum that would replay the 2006 election.

But instead of stifling those who challenged the legitimacy of the president's second term, Uribe's announcement has created an uproar from his opponents. They now are concerned that the referendum could allow Uribe to stay in office beyond the end of his current term in 2010. They fear that the referendum would demonstrate the kind of popularity that could make Congress give Uribe the opportunity to seek a third term.

Although Uribe has not expressed interest in seeking office again, the opposition is ridiculously contending that the president is on the verge of becoming a tyrannical dictator.

Of course, my guide, Hernandez, and a large majority of the Colombian people don't see it that way.

"In a real democracy, the only thing that should count is the will of the people," Hernandez told me. "And the Colombian people want Uribe to remain our president."

To find out more about Miguel Perez and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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