El Tiempo, of Colombian newspapers generally the most loyal to the
Colombian government, asked President Uribe to speak out against a 2010
re-election.
The newspaper — partially owned by the Santos family that also delivered the vice-President and Defense Minister to the Uribe administration — asked the President in an editorial to tell the country “clearly and unequivocally he does not aspire to be elected for the third time in 2010.”
El Tiempo endorsed the first re-election of Uribe, which resulted in two very prominent posts in the President’s second cabinet.
This time, the newspaper opposes the constitutional reform needed for Uribe to run for President again, saying it “would not be healthy for democracy in Colombia, not for the country itself and not for Álvaro Uribe.”
According to the paper, a great leader knows when it is time to pauze or to retreat from power. The paper asks the President to allow someone else to continue the current government’s policy.