A couple of Colombia stories have caught my eye in the last 24 hours. Firstly, this link shows that President Uribe's approval rating has dropped seven points from the boost he got from the hostage-freeing 'Operacion Jaque', and currently sits at 78%. Not that Uribe will be quaking in his boots about the loss of popularity; 78% is an extremely impressive approval rating for a long-serving President in any part of the world, and perhaps doubly so for LatAm.The second was a call by the once and future presidential candidate, ex-hostage Ingrid Betancourt, to include the FARC in Colombian political debate (Spanish language Reuters link here). Now I'm sure this will be greeted by cries of "never surrender", "bomb the bastards", "string 'em up it's the only language they understand" and suchlike, but isn't it time that Colombians stopped beating the crap out of each other and talked a bit more?
The FARC are (to my knowledge at least) the only belligerant guerrilla force left in this part of the world, and the continuing outbreak of regional democracy will have to include them at some point, just as Sinn Fein is now (grudgingly by some) included in the Irish debate after years of bombs and guns. Of course, Betancourt obviously has her eye on the top job already thus keep in mind there's always the scheming politico angle to filter out. Even so, I welcome her statement, even though it won't be a night-to-day changemaker. In the words of the warrior-democrat Winston Churchill, "Jaw jaw is better than war war."
The aggressive stance taken by Uribe towards the FARC has undoubtedly worked on one level, and this explains the roots of his current popularity. But it has also caused innumerable human rights violations that will have to be reckoned sooner or later. Argentina has come to terms with its past. Peru is having more trouble facing the stark reality of its armed forces atrocities in the 1980s and 1990s, but it has made progress. As for Colombia, the day will come when a warrior leader such as Uribe is not needed nor wanted any more. The sooner the better.