Colombia's Political Situation Today

By Rick Segreda

As with most Latin American countries, Colombia's political history has been one of civil wars, social injustice, corruption, and violence.  A fraudulent election in 1970 prompted the organization of the guerrilla movement M19 four years later, and in the latter half of the 20th century high-profile kidnappings, right-wing, left-wing, and criminal terrorism – along with repressive countermeasures – have pretty much defined this nation.

The gravest threat to Colombian stability came about through the rise of drug cartels in the 1970's and 80's. Exploiting the increasingly high demand for cocaine in North America and Europe, their lucrative operations enabled them to bribe and/or coerce police and politicians, as well as ordinary (and usually) poor citizens. They combined their buying-off with barbarity; apart from their own pattern of abductions and violence, they also financed both right-wing paramilitaries and left-wing guerrillas, all in the service of undermining law enforcement.

In 1999, President Andrés Pastrana began "Plan Colombia," an aggressive effort to fight the drug trade, along with minor attempts to address the underlying social issues that sustain it. The military facet of the plan was backed by the United States, with money and arms. Plan Colombia, however, failed to affect much change. The next president, Álvaro Uribe, enacted an aggressive hard line against guerrilla groups, which has reduced crime and violence, and in turn produced notable economic growth, but major social problems –poverty, illiteracy, class and political polarization -- remain.