President Alvaro Uribe Velez
Casa de Nariño
Carrera 8 No. 7-26
Santa Fe de Bogota, Colombia
Dear President Uribe,
It is outrageous what occurred last week when so-called Uribistas political parties blatantly broke the pacts regarding the alternation of the presidency in both chambers of Congress. It is even more disrespectful that many of these formerly obedient approvers of government-sanctioned-bills want to move to opposition political parties now that they think the re-election referendum is dead. It is clear that many of these law-signers are totally ungrateful after you, together with your political allies who are now exiled in the U.S., elected them to Congress.
But President, we know and you know that they are utterly mistaken. Colombia had long been forgotten by God, but since you arrived we are able to see the light.
We can see how much better this country is without an internal conflict but a post-conflict. Without paramilitaries but criminal gangs. Without internally displaced but internal migrants. Without intellectuals but FARC-ideologists. Without investigative journalists but accomplices of terrorism. Without government corruption but persuasion. Without insider trading by your sons but entrepreneurship. Without U.S. military bases in Colombia but Colombian controlled bases. Without extrajudicial killings but false accusations. Without labor unionists but criminals dressed as such. Without paramilitary-army alliances but ‘democratic security’. Without DAS illegal wiretapping but…well, since you have not vehemently addressed this episode it seems that is not really important.The list continues, but you, more than anyone, understand the genius of your policies.
Diplomatic relations have not been better. With your policies and the well-prepared consuls and ambassadors our alliances and bilateral relations have grown stronger. When you are abroad we admire the serene manner in which you answer questions by malicious journalists. We are definitely proud of a president who was awarded the U.S. Medal of Freedom by such an eminent person as George W. Bush. You are also the best representation of Colombia abroad since neither you nor your family has links with the paramilitaries and congressmen from coalition parties being investigated or in jail have been the target of a politicized judicial system. Besides, it is worse having links with narco-terrorists as our aggressive neighbors, Chavez and Correa, certainly have.
Those are the reasons why we have taken the time to propose legitimate ways to keep you at the helm of this country.
One lawful strategy would be to continue pushing the re-election referendum for an immediate re-election in Congress since the conciliation is the last step before it reaches the Constitutional Court, although this would be futile. It would be difficult to create more notaries to persuade the 86 congressmen being investigated by the Supreme Court to participate in the conciliation process since the same court prohibited this recently. Furthermore, without the DAS’ wiretappings, it is virtually impossible to identify the undemocratic means the opposition and the courts are attempting to utilize to block the referendum by the popular initiative of your political allies.
Nevertheless, this kind of excuses by many of the congressmen could be overridden if the question in the referendum alludes to a re-election in 2014,instead of an immediate re-election. Some have suggested that you couldleave a caretaker for four years such as Juan Manuel Santos, who hasbrought so many successes with his ethical and honest work asDefense Minister. But there is not doubt that in this case is essentialto have the owner of the country state rather than the majordomorunning the show.
Another possible strategy is to call for a constituent assembly, to draft a truly Uribista constitution. The reasons are obvious. Congress has become an inefficient body that drains the Executive branch’s bureaucratic quotas, especially those in consulates and embassies. This ineffectiveness impedes the structural changes the country needs in order to pursue your messianic policies such as ‘democratic security’, ‘investor confidence’, ‘social cohesion’. Besides, Congress has failed to represent their constituencies. There is not other explanation for Judas-like congressmen changing political parties with somewhat different ideological leanings in view of next year’s parliamentary elections.
However, a constituent assembly may be complicated since many of the people traveling abroad falsely incriminating your government of human rights abuses could be involved. Nevertheless, there is another solution, which is incidentally being proposed in the Philippines where the honest President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is seeking to remain in power in order to fight against poverty, eradicate corruption and make the Philippines part of the world’s rich countries within 20 years as she promised at the beginning of her mandate in 2001. Macapagal-Arroyo needs more time and she is afraid that no other leader can meet the expectations. You certainly understand what she means.
Their solution is to conduct a revolutionary transition government, which would permit the drastic changes for long-lasting and radical reforms.The beauty of the idea is that you would head this transitiongovernment together with both houses of Congress and the Judiciary. Congressmen would certainly be loyal once again. Of course this would be unconstitutional, but you are above the constitution.
Mr. President you need to lead Colombia and Colombia needs your leadership. Your policies and diplomacy are paramount for overcoming and avoiding the current diplomatic crises, which are typical of dangerous neighborhoods.We are sure that you have meditated on some of these strategies but weimplore that you can find an appropriate solution so you can finally convince your soul to run for a third presidential election. President, we need you.
Sincerely,
The 17,200 richest Colombians and businesses that would-be payers of the war tax,
The people who can now visit their country states,
The viewers of RNC news
Author Sebastian Castaneda is Colombian and lives in Hong Kong
