Colombia’s House of Representatives sank the government’s proposals for
political reform. The reforms were meant to abolish criminal influence
in politics and the possibility for President Álvaro Uribe to be
re-elected in 2014.
Some members of the Uribista coalition already stalled the vote Tuesday, refusing to vote in favor of it. The “turtle” tactics led to a serious scoulding by Interior and Justice Minister Fabio Valencia Cossio, who questioned the congressmen’s reasons for not voting in favor of the bill.
Now the political reform is dead, the only way for Uribe to be re-elected again is the recently held referendum that demands a constitutional change for the battered President to run for the presidency again in 2010.The constitution as it is only allows a president two terms.
The Uribe administration has been having great difficulty keeping the coalition together the past few months. The two most important issues for the government; reform of the judicial system and reform of the legislative branch, both were killed, because of resistance within the coalition parties.