Latin Analysis: Why is the Colombian right-wing currently facing a crisis?
Anadolu Agency
Without a doubt, Colombia is a country that has grown in political, social, and economic importance within Latin America during the last years. Indeed, despite it going through a severe civil crisis during the 90s, the country managed to bloom in recent years, such that it recently became the 36th member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
One of the most popular Colombian figures which gave way to overcoming the 90s crisis is Álvaro Uribe, who was president of the nation from 2002 to 2010 and, until recently, continued to lead the Centro Democrático political party (to which the current president, Iván Duque, belongs to) and work in the National Senate. His influence in Colombian politics is so strong that “Uribismo” had become a synonym of supporting the national right-wing party, and voters are mostly divided between “Uribistas” and “no Uribistas”.
Nevertheless, the former Colombian leader is now involved in one of the most controversial scandals of the last years within the Latin American continent: he is the first former president of the nation to be detained and is currently under house arrest. This is the case because, back in 2012, Uribe himself accused Iván Cepeda (a senator from the left-wing national political party) to have manipulated evidence to try to prove that the former president and his brother had been involved in creating paramilitary groups. Without a doubt, this was a highly controversial accusation given that these alliances were illegal groups that confronted guerrillas and resulted in the death of thousands of Colombians. However, when the Supreme Court started to investigate the case, proof suggested that the one who had been bribing witnesses and manipulating evidence, was, in fact, Álvaro Uribe.
As he was arrested, thousands of Colombians hit the streets in the main cities like Bogotá and Medellín. Uribistas gathered to support the former president and show that they believe him to be innocent. Parallelly, no Uribistas also went out in the streets celebrating that Uribe had been arrested, given that he is considered by some to “be a criminal” and have had no respect for human rights on his methods to control the civil unrest during his administration. Experts indicate that, even if ultimately Uribe is declared innocent, this event will deepen the social divide between Colombians in right and left-wing supporters.
The situation in which Uribe (who had broken popularity records when he was the president) is today, is considered by analysts to be the beginning of a right-wing crisis in Colombia and a strengthening of the left-wing political party, as well as a trigger for social instability which the country has been trying to stabilize for several years. Uribe’s arrest occurs in a salient moment of Colombian politics, as presidential elections are to be had in 2022, and there is scarce hope that Centro Democrático will be capable of overcoming this scandal to re-gain the citizen’s trust and secure the victory of its candidate.
This occurrence has villainized right-wing politicians, including the current president Duque (as when he assumed the leadership of the country established to want to continue the “legacy” of Uribe), as well as, according to political researchers, is feeding the societal view that Centro Democrático has failed to deliver its promises and is not “trustworthy”. This, further increments the possibilities that Colombia could experience a governmental transformation from a right-wing dominated to a left-wing oriented government in two years and, given that Colombia is nowadays such an influential country in South America, could lead to other nations following its steps in the future.
Meanwhile, Uribe is confined within his property in northern Colombia, where he remains unsupervised by the police, but under the (signed) promise of him following the Supreme Court’s instructions. It is unclear when the case will be resolved; it has been indicated that this could take years, but if he was to be declared guilty, it is estimated that he could be in prison between 6 to 8 years.
To try to regain public approval, Centro Democrático is investing in a strong marketing campaign to boost the party and the former president’s damaged popularity (as it declined an approximate of 59% last month), as well as Uribe is continuously supported by president Duque and his political allies which continue to dominate the political sphere in the country. Additionally, Uribe quit his position as national senator and is constantly using social media to reaffirm his innocence and commitment to make Colombia a greater country.
Truth is, the right-wing political party is going through an un-walked path, and it will certainly have to adapt to the Supreme Court’s resolutions in the following months (or years) to avoid collaterally losing the center-role it has had for many years in the Colombian government. It is evident, then, that how this situation evolves in the future most certainly will impact the future of Colombia – and the rest of the Latin America region as well.
