Colombia’s congressional building in Bogotá.
This weekend, two of Colombia’s political parties will hold primary elections to select their presidential nominees. One is the historical Conservative party and the other is the fledgling Green Party.
Unlike the United States, Colombia has had a multiparty system for nearly 20 years. This has drastically changed the traditional political landscape, which previously was dominated by the Liberal and Conservative parties. As a result, voters in May’s presidential election will choose from several diverse options.
The current contenders from the Conservative party include José Galat, the head of a university; Noemi Sanin, a former ambassador; Alvaro Leyva Duran, a career politician; Marta L. Ramirez, a senator; and Andres F. Arias, the former minister of agriculture who has acquired the nickname “Uribito” for his close relationship with Colombia’s current president, Álvaro Uribe.
The contenders for the Green Party are three former mayors of the city of Bogota, representing three distinct, yet complementary, political philosophies: Antanas Mockus, Enrique Peñalosa and Lucho Garzon. Although all three are well known in the capital city, and admired throughout the nation for their work, until now they have lacked the political support at the national level needed to carry and fulfill a candidacy.
The other candidates include Rafael Pardo, senator, for the Liberal party; Gustavo Petro, former guerrilla member, senator and candidate for the leftist party, Polo Democrático; German Vargas Lleras, senator, for the Cambio Radical party; and Sergio Fajardo, former mayor of Medellin, representing the party Compromiso Ciudadano por Colombia.
As of today, the candidate that seems destined to win the presidency is Juan Manuel Santos, who is running as the Partido de la U. A member of the Santos family, the owners of the major Colombian newspaper, El Tiempo, he was, until recently, Colombia’s minister of defense. Santos recently received the official backing of president Uribe.
In the upcoming elections, Colombia will have to make an important decision, whether to choose someone with ideology similar to Uribe, or someone with a new vision. This decision is not an easy one to make for a country still facing many challenges, including whether the best political philosophy is a “strong-arm” approach or a more socially conscious one.
Lisa Guáqueta is the project administrator for the Latin American Initiative at the Baker Institute. Her areas of research interest include the urban dynamics of Latin America, especially the role of cities and local governments in international issues. She studied economics at Universidad Externado de Colombia and holds a master’s degree in international affairs from The New School in New York.