<< Previous day Blog posts in this category Next day >>
<< Previous year (same day) (if any) Next year (same day) >>
May 28, 2006 [LINK]
Uribe wins landslide reelection
Colombia's hard-line anti-terrorist president Alvaro Uribe won about 62 percent of the vote, far more than was needed to avoid a second-round contest. Carlos Gaviria, of the Liberal Party [ ], came in second with 22 percent. Uribe won in 31 of the 33 provinces, and among overseas Colombian voters. There was no interference from either of the guerrilla groups, FARC and ELN. The civil war is far from being over, but there are many sings of vast improvement since Uribe was inaugurated nearly four years ago. The number of violent deaths and kidnappings has dropped sharply, and in the cities at least, it is now almost safe enough for tourists. The main trouble spot is the continued strength of the right wing militias, who are not accountable to any legal authority. See BBC and El Tiempo (in Spanish).
Although Colombia is in many ways one of the most "typical" of Latin American countries, it has usually followed a separate path from the rest of the countries in the region. It remained democratic while nearly all of the others were taken over by military officers in the 1960s and 1970s, and it avoided the hyperinflation and debt crises that most other dealt with in the 1980s. While other countries in South America turn sharply toward the left, Colombia maintains a clear conservative course. The appeal of left-wing politics is very low in a country where leftists routinely murder innocent civilians with terrorist bombs.
Posted (or last updated or commented upon): 29 May 2006, 9: 39 AM
(unformatted URL) .
ALL blog posts today
New blog post entry
This post is over a week old, so comments are closed.
© Andrew G. Clem. All rights reserved. Your use of this material signifies your acceptance of the Terms of use.
Hits on this page (single blog post) since July 2, 2007: 
Category archives:
(all years)
Baseball
Politics
Latin America
War
Wild Birds
Culture & Travel
Science & Technology
This (or that) year's
blog highlights
January 7, 2006 ~ DeLay gives up majority leader post
January 12, 2006 ~ Alito withstands Dems' "torture"
January 16, 2006 ~ Michelle Bachelet wins in Chile
January 19, 2006 ~ Views on Iran's nuclear ambitions
January 24, 2006 ~ Fallout from Canada's election
January 31, 2006 ~ Second (& third) thoughts on Iran
February 1, 2006 ~ The State of the Union, 2006
February 8, 2006 ~ D.C. Council votes "yes," but...
February 18, 2006 ~ Checks and balances in wartime
February 22, 2006 ~
Neocons & Neolibs: chastened alike
February 28, 2006 ~
The Dubai Ports World uproar
March 14, 2006 ~ New D.C. baseball stadium unveiled
March 24, 2006 ~ In the footsteps of France?
April 7, 2006 ~ Immigration compromise fails
May 16, 2006 ~ Bush militarizes Mexican border
June 6, 2006 ~ Alan Garcia triumphs, once again
June 9, 2006 ~
Zarqawi: The death of a terrorist
July 3, 2006 ~
Election in Mexico: too close to call
July 5, 2006 ~ North Korea goes ballistic
July 28, 2006 ~ Garcia prepares to lead Peru, again
August 4, 2006 ~ Israel invades Hezbolland
September 6, 2006 ~ "Crunchy conservatives": for real?
September 25, 2006 ~ Nationalists thwart conservation
October 3, 2006 ~ Nationals: Year in review
October 29, 2006 ~ Virginia's marriage amendment
November 7, 2006 ~ The people render their verdict
November 8, 2006 ~ Republicans lose big time
November 9, 2006 ~ Allen concedes / Election post-mortem
November 13, 2006 ~ Toward consensus on Iraq?
December 1, 2006 ~ Realism and our goals in Iraq
December 6, 2006 ~ Latin America & U.S. trade policy
December 8, 2006 ~ Iraq Study Group reports
December 22, 2006 ~ Yuletide political roundup
Blog highlights have been compiled for the years 2010-2012 thus far, and eventually will be compiled for earlier years, back to 2002.
Explanation
The "home made" blog organization system that I created was instituted on November 1, 2004, followed by several functional enhancements in subsequent years. I make no more than one blog post per day on any one category, so some posts may cover multiple news items or issues. Blog posts appear in the following (reverse alphabetical) order, which may differ from the chronological order in which the posts were originally made:
- Wild birds (LAST)
- War
- Science & Technology
- Politics
- Latin America
- Culture & Travel
- Canaries ("Home birds")
- Baseball (FIRST)
Also see: My blog practices.
Blog errata (Nobody's perfect.)