Alvaro Uribe Velez

I do not need to state that one must be especially cautious when reading political memoirs. Sr. Uribe Velez's book deserves special analysis, simply due to the enormity of his ambition and how much of that he has carried out.

Most Americans have an image of what Colombia was in the 1980s and 1990s - drug lords, Pablo Escobar, paramilitary bandits, civil war, and perhaps FARC, which claimed to fight imperialism and terror, and thus kidnapped and exterminated villagers which were 'class enemies'. Cartels, the world's largest producer of cocaine. The government was barely able to control the major cities, much less that of the vast stretches of mountainous and tropical countryside.

After Uribe's two terms, FARC's leadership was either dead, imprisoned, deported, or fleeing for their lives. The paramilitaries were turning swords into plowshares. Foreign investment and trade began to trickle in. GDP grew from 1% per annum in 2001 to 7% in 2012. Once again, there was a restored civil society and democratic governance, and Colombia's neighbors were willing to welcome it once again into the 'international community'.

How was all this accomplished?

Velez provides the briefest sketch of his early life - horse ranches, the political lifestyle and democratic ideals of his parents, a romantic image of childhood. His father was assassinated by FARC in 1982, an event which many observers claim drove him into politics. He modestly denies this, saying it instead propelled him into the community of Colombians who were affected by violence. He continued his schooling abroad before his forceful return into politics.

After some minor posts and serving as mayor of Medellin for five months, he became a state senator from 1986 to 1994. His main legislative efforts were directed towards social reform - improving the safety net, enrolling the population in subsidized health care, and so forth. A declassified US intelligence report at this time claimed he was a friend of Pablo Escobar, an extremely unusual and perhaps bizarre assessment given his later behavior towards crime and domestic order. Naturally, he considers such as assessment contemptuous.

In 1995, he became governor of the same state he represented as a senator. Once in power there, he implemented mass mobilization campaigns and a sort of direct democracy - built on the early American and proto-republican forms of government in attempts to rebuild civil society. His main focuses again were on building state infrastructure - clinics and rural schools. For security, he implemented a program of licensed security services named the 'CONVIVIR', or 'COEXIST'. Velez claims they were necessary for security, but Human Rights Watch and others were skeptical of their infiltration by paramilitaries, and they were disbanded due to their unconstitutionality by 1997.

In 2002, he ran for the presidency, and won by some 20% over the nearest competitor - although turnout was depressed by militias. FARC had launched mortar rounds at the capital to disrupt his inauguration, but it went through. There would be at least a dozen more serious attempts on his life in the next eight years.

Again, his first goals were establishing civil government, fighting FARC. One of his first military campaigns was to retake the highway system from FARC and their 'checkpoints' of kidnapping and ransom fees. That in itself led to an economic boost (from domestic trade) and in morale. After the IMF and World Bank noted some serious budget deficits, he instituted a one-time 'security tax' of 1.2% of all assets of upper-income citizens - raising some $800 million to go to the defense budget.

An emphasis on the military and self-defense budget was a necessity. It would be no exaggeration to state that Colombia had been in some form of civil war for the past forty years. It is not a matter of imperialism so much as it was survival. The military was reorganized so that soldiers defended their own home towns and regions. Military reforms also involved purges of corrupt officials, and reliance upon new intelligence techniques and aid from the United States. One of Uribe Velez's more controversial moves was making strikes into in Ecuador and Venezuela's territory against FARC compounds. This led to heated diplomatic crises, but these were later resolved after concessions. Uribe Velez also claims that some intelligence recovered from killed FARC leaders indicates that they had bought off local officials in foreign governments, or had even received support from them.

It is interesting to note that both United States intelligence agencies and officials in the Brazilian government have independently confirmed that Venezuela/Chavez were at least sheltering FARC, and perhaps giving them financial and military aid. Some of these raids did spark diplomatic tensions with Venezuela, but these were mediated by the regional 'elder statesman', Fidel Castro, and later by the president of the Dominican Republic. Now, at least, Colombia appears to be on a more peaceful dialogue with its neighbors.

One outcome of this new intelligence network was a series of daring raids, hostage rescue efforts, and 'decapitation' strikes of FARC leaders. One of the most visible of these was Operation Jaque ('Check', as in 'Checkmate'), in which several major political hostages were freed and two FARC members were captured by a team of special ops posing as journalists. Such a raid, almost out of a movie, was extremely popular, as it had demonstrated that the government was no longer impotent in defending its citizens.

By the end of his time in office, governmental statistics claimed that some 96% of the country was back under government control, a far better number than
In the rest of his domestic policy, he has some elements of neo-liberalism in expanded trade policy, but he has refused to cut the social safety net extensively, and had pledged expanding access to education, basic health care, and microcredit institutions for businesses. After all, his main role was expanding the role of governance where none had previously existed. Arguments of laissez-faire in certain topics would not sound very convincing.

He was the first president in recent history to be re-elected to an unprecedented 2nd term in 2006 through constitutional amendment (this was in the middle of the anti-FARC campaigns), but this was not granted again in 2010, and thus left office. One of his main cabinet members is his successor. It is important to note that Uribe-Velez had astonishing popularity, few thought it would be appropriate to re-elect him again, strangely enough.

Throughout all this, we see a singular devotion to political ends. In recent years, some members of his staff were accused of corruption and conspiracy with the paramilitary groups, but the man himself has been untouched. In the most desperate circumstances, however, of invasion and decades and civil war, such steadfast leadership has its position. See Churchill. Or Lincoln, who suspended habeas corpus for a time to end the great crime of slavery. Some are already claiming he is Colombia's Churchill or Lincoln, but history will soon be the judge of it.

His methods are controversial, no doubt, but a majority of Colombians agree with his results. When he left office, his approval rating was at 75%. Colombia has a long way to go, with some three million displaced and the last remnants of FARC fighting on, but the nation is at least on its feet again.… (más)