Colombia's Leader Digs In

Members of the U.S. trained Colombian Army's 3rd counter narcotics battalion salute during their graduation ceremony at the Larandia military base in southern Colombia, Thursday, May 24, 2001. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

From The Wall Street Journal:

BOGOTÁ, Colombia -- Álvaro Uribe was 7 years old when he announced to his family that he intended to become president of Colombia. Fifty years later, in the eyes of many, he is the man who rescued his beleaguered nation from collapse.

When he was inaugurated in 2002, Latin America's oldest and largest Communist insurgency, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, was strong enough to lob mortars at the presidential palace during the ceremony. Right-wing paramilitary groups were rampaging through the countryside killing suspected rebel supporters. Mr. Uribe soon put the FARC on the run, and consequently persuaded the paramilitaries to disarm. The dividend for his countrymen: an economic boom.

But lately Mr. Uribe's political narrative is taking some complex twists. He has refused to rule out running for a third term, which isn't allowed under Colombian law. He and his supporters are working to change the law. Critics claim he is morphing into a familiar figure in Latin American politics -- the caudillo, or strongman.

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My Comment: Term limits is something that I wish the U.S. Congress and Senate had. Who are we to protest another countries political system when our own needs reform.