Colombia's democracy under threat

Colombia is running a rebranding campaign to convince tourists that the world’s former kidnap capital is now safe to visit. TV adverts show Bogotá boutiques, white sand beaches and smiling indigenous folk before a voice dipped in honey delivers the line: “The only risk is wanting to stay”.

It’s a clever campaign that works because the message is true. Colombia has become a safe and attractive destination for foreigners. Pablo Escobar is long dead and leftist guerrillas have been pushed deep into the jungle. Some 1.2 million tourists visited last year, double the number in 2002. Foreign investment has also jumped. It is an impressive turnaround for a country that once verged on being a failed state.

That line, however, has a darker meaning if applied to President ­Alvaro Uribe, now almost eight years in office; supporters are on the brink of changing the constitution to allow him a third term from next year. It was amended in 2006 to give him a second.

Uribe has been coy about whether he will seek election, but has done nothing to discourage his supporters’ constitutional moves.

The dilemma for Colombia is the risk to democracy if Uribe remains in power. Supporters say this idea is ­ridiculous. They believe the tough conservative leader saved democracy. He stood up to the Farc guerrillas, made the army strong and cities safe. He brought jobs, investment, stability. And Uribe is popular; polls predict a landslide if he is allowed to run next year. Supporters ask: what would be so bad about that?
 
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