Presidential candidate Juan Manuel Santos on Wednesday said he is “pleased” that his rival Antanas Mockus “keeps changing his mind” regarding Hugo Chavez, after Mockus vowed to keep Venezuelan socialist ideals east of the Colombian border.
On campaign in the city of Manizales, the Partido de la U candidate and runner-up in the polls said “how pleased I am that Professor Mockus keeps changing his mind and is repeating what we have been saying for so long.”
Earlier that day, Mockus had said “Categorically no,” about the question of allowing Venezuelan ideals into Colombia, adding that there had been “some hysteria” over claims that he would let President Alvaro Uribe’s tough “democratic security” policy fall by the wayside and allow Colombia to be overrun by FARC guerrillas and Venezuelan socialists.
Mockus received fierce criticism from his contestants for the presidency after saying he “admired” Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.