Transcript LatAm.10.Colombia - High Point University

WHY STUDY COLOMBIA?
• Surprisingly, it is longest running democracy in the region.
• It had the longest lasting (leftist) guerilla movements in the
region
• It is a another example of the political costs of drugs and the
problem that US consumption poses for Latin American
democracy
• Colombia is case study in US involvement in the region and
changing USFP paradigms about support for democracy
• Colombia was frequently referred to a failed state; it is now
increasingly cited as a role model of how to build and sustain
democracy in a society that is marked by deep conflict.
SOME (SURPRISING) BASIC FACTS
• Size: About 2X France or 3X Montana
• Geography: Three regions (sea, mountains, & Amazon)…
Think about Afgahnistan
• Population: 47 million or 2/3 Britain or France
• Life expectancy: 68 men, 76 women. About the same as
Brazil, but murder is the #1 cause of premature death by
men.
• Military expenditure: Mexico= .5%, Colombia = 3.4%, Brazil =
2.6%, US = 4.5% GDP (‘05).
• Drugs = 25-33% of the value of Colombia’s legal exports (oil,
coffee, flowers, shrimp, textiles)
• 2007 GDP per head: (purchasing power parity): US$: 8,063
Brazil = $9,746; Mexico=$13,720
HISTORY THAT MATTERS FOR COLOMBIAN
DEMOCRACY
• The viceroyalty of New Grenada (Bogotá, 1717/1739):
Centralized, high stakes politics from early on
• The War for Independence (1810-1819) and Gran Colombia
(until 1830)
• The split of Simón Bolivar and Francisco de Paula Santander
lead to emergence of the Conservative and Liberal parties
(1840s).
• The Thousand Days War (1899-1902), a civil war causing 100 K
deaths
• 1904: Panamanian independence with US support
• La Violencia (1948-1957), which killed approximately 300K.
• The military dictatorship of Gustavo Rojao Pinilla (1953-57):
The only time the violence stops is with strongman rule (but,
to their credit, Colombian’s didn’t like this either)
ONE OF THE OLDEST (AND PERPETUALLY TROUBLED)
DEMOCRACIES IN THE REGION
• The National Front Regime (1958-1974): (1) Alternating 4-yr. presidency,
(2) all legislative bodies equally divided, (3) all appointments equally
divided, (4) no other new political parties, (5) the adoption of a merit
based civil service, and all (6) legislation in the Natl. Cong. had to pass
both houses.
• Armed Rebellion: (1) The foundation of the FARC (the Armed
Revolutionary Forces of Colombia, 1964); (2) the ELN (National
Liberation Army), and the (3) AUC (The United Self-defense Groups of
Colombia). What do these groups want?
• The 1980s: drug trafficking, heightened civil war (1996-2002 > 25 K
murders annually)
• The 1991 Constitution: Making political space for new forces
• Recent presidents have a mixed record. The Ernesto Samper scandal
(1994-98), various peace deals under Andrés Pastrana (1988-2002), and
the election of a hardliner (Alvaro Uribe, 2002-2010)
• The FARC is on its last leg: March 2008: Manuel Marulanda, aka
“Tirofijo” (“Sureshot”) dies
THE STRUCTURE OF COLOMBIA’S DEMOCRACY
• Its presidential system: Plurality elections with a second round; reelection
now permitted but limited to two successive terms. Very strong decree
powers.
• A bi-cameral Congress: Senate: 100 seats for four-year terms selected using
national PR, with provision that any party that gets 1% vote gets a seat.
House: 166 seats, four years terms; elected by district-level OLPR since 2006
(between 1991-2006, they used closed lists)
• Direct democracy: Recalls, initiative and referendum provisions for
Constitutional amendments.
• Federalism: Like most other countries in Latin America with regional
differences, Colombia has very strong federalism.
• The main parties: The two party system splintered after adoption of the
1991 Constitution, and today they are personality centered. The Liberals
and Conservatives are still the largest parties, but there are over 70
registered parties, dozens of which have won national congressional seats.
HOW BAD DID THINGS GET IN COLOMBIA?
HOW DID COLOMBIA BEAT THE FARC?
DID US ASSISTANCE MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
THE TWO WARS
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE WELL OFF ARE TARGETED
BY VIOLENCE?
WAS THE WAR ON DRUGS WON, TOO? MORE BEING
ELIMINATED, BUT….
WAS THE WAR ON DRUGS WON, TOO? MORE BEING
ELIMINATED, BUT….
IS COLOMBIA A FAILED DEMOCRATIC STATE?
• What kinds of problems can democracy solve in a place
like Colombia? What does it struggle with?
• How should democracies deal with anti-democratic
elements and force? Is Colombia’s effort to open its
political system to microparties a good idea, for
example?
• Was Uribe’s harsh approach the best way to deal with
violence resistance? What have
• How much responsibility does the US bear for
Colombia’s drug issues and the political consequences of
narcotrafficking? Can we draw larger lessons for
democracy from Colombia