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Posts Tagged ‘Alvaro Uribe’

Rift between Santos and Uribe threaten to divide the National Unity Party of Colombia

by Phantom Ace ( 1 Comment › )
Filed under Columbia, Headlines at November 4th, 2011 - 1:40 am

Th ruling U Party of Colombia is close to splitting. Formed under former President Alvaro Uribe, it has dominated Colombia for a decade. A growing rift between The current President Santos and Uribe have been having a war of words. This is prompting talk that the followers of Santos will join the Center-Right Liberal Party, which the National Unity Party came out of. Thus leaving Uribe and the more Nationalist faction in charge of the U party. The tensions are growing and effecting the Party.

The growing rift between Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and his predecessor Alvaro Uribe is causing friction between members of Santos’ “coalition of national unity” in Congress, where Uribe’s power base has become increasingly marginalized.

The friction surfaced Tuesday and Wednesday when U Party representatives loyal to Uribe walked out of two consecutive plenary sessions of Colombia‘s House of Representatives in protest against the House’s chairman, Liberal Party Representative Simon Gaviria.

[….]

Also in the Senate, Uribe loyalists are turning away from the coalition. U Party Senator Juan Carlos Velez openly withdrew his support for a government-backed judicial reform, saying “it is very difficult for me to support a reform … that President Uribe has been opposing.”

Uribe’s alleged instigation of the rebellion within Santos’ coalition follows the appointment of Uribe critic and Liberal Party president Rafael Pardo as labor minister.

Uribe went as far as to call Santos’ appointment of Pardo a “hostile act” against him, saying “the actions of the national government are hypocritical and lack popular support.”

There is alot more to this than a post can justify. But I’ll explain Colombian politics. Currently, there is a 4 party Coalition. The Liberal Party which is Center-Right would be the equivalent of Libertarian Republicans. The Conservative Party which is Socially Conservative, Radical Change which is Rightwing Nationalist and the National Unity Party which is also Nationalist but seeks to form greater Colombia (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, Peru and Bolivia). The Opposition is the Green party which is Center-Left and the Progressive Party which is Social Democratic. Both Santos and Uribe come from the Liberal Party. They however created the National Unity Party as the political arm of the AUC and won power in 202. Now Santos seems to be gravitating back to the Liberal Party and Uribe feels betrayed. Santos was his defense ministera and heir apparent.  Uribe wants Colombian regional hegemony, Santos does as wel but done via cultural and economic means.

This is a Rightwing spat. Sound familiar?

The leaders of the U Party are trying to have a summit between Uribe and Santos.

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Posted in Columbia, Headlines | 1 Comment »

Colombia, the new South American powerhouse

by Phantom Ace ( 29 Comments › )
Filed under Columbia, Economy, World at July 19th, 2010 - 8:30 am

Colombia is the unsung miracle story of the early 21st century. The nation was on the verge of collapse 10 years ago. The Totalitarian Progressive FARC guerrillas controlled parts of the country. Only the Rightwing Militia, the AUC, prevented the fall of this nation to the Left.

In 2002, Alvaro Uribe came into power and turned the situation around. He integrated most of the AUC fighters into the Colombian armed forces and pursued free market policies. He took the fight to the FARC and stared Chavez down. Colombia is now has a growing economy and a well trained army thanks to Israeli trainers. Israel is that nations closest ally, even more so than the Obama regime. It is the greatest story never told.

In a time of emerging-market juggernauts, Colombia gets little notice. Its $244 billion economy is only the fifth-largest in Latin America, a trifle next to Brazil, the $2 trillion regional powerhouse. Yet against all odds Colombia has become the country to watch in the hemisphere. In the past eight years the nation of 45 million has gone from a crime- and drug-addled candidate for failed state to a prospering dynamo. The once sluggish economy is on a roll. Oil and gas production are surging, and Colombia’s MSCI index jumped 15 percent between January and June, more than any other stock market this year.

This is more than a bull run. Since 2002, foreign direct investment has jumped fivefold (from $2 billion to $10 billion), while GDP per capita has doubled, to $5,700. The society that once was plagued by car bombs, brain drain, and capital flight is now debating how to avoid “Dutch disease,” the syndrome of too much foreign cash rolling in. Stable, booming, and democratic, Colombia has increasingly become “a bright star in the Latin American constellation,” as emerging-market analyst Walter Molano of BCP Securities calls it. Michael Geoghegan, CEO of HSBC, recently picked Colombia as a leader of a nascent block of midsize powers, the CIVETS (after the smallish, tree-dwelling cat), which stands for Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, and South Africa. “These are the new BRICs,” he said.

Read the rest: Colombia Becomes the New Star of the South

Thanks to the security achievements it is now a place for tourism. The Caribbean coast has great beaches that many know about. The President elect, Juan Manuel Santos, is now planning to lower taxes and attract more investments. Colombia is a success story and one that should be told.

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Posted in Columbia, Economy, World | 29 Comments »

Colombia and Israel

by Phantom Ace ( 109 Comments › )
Filed under Columbia, Israel, Military at April 30th, 2010 - 8:00 am

Although I am not Colombian by blood, I am by association. My step dad is Colombian, and many of the friends I grew up with as well. I have often wrote about Colombia’s turn around. Under Uribe, the Leftist FARC have been driven out and they have the strongest Military in South America. Part of the reason for this success was the assistance Israel has given the Colombian Military. The elite of the Army have been trained by Israeli advisers. In a show of gratitude, the Colombian Foreign minister went and showed support to Israel.

Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermúdez assured Israel on Thursday that bilateral ties are “very strong,” and whoever wins his country’s presidential election next month will be supportive of the Jewish state.

“Colombia and Israel have had a very long relationship and a very strong partnership too,” Bermudez told The Jerusalem Post, in an interview in his suite at the King David Hotel.

“I truly believe that Colombia today, regardless of who will be the most likely winner, is going to continue on the same track… I am very optimistic about the future of our relationship.”

He also expressed a desire to strengthen Colombia’s military relationship with Israel as well as trade ties, and develop what he termed “joint ventures on innovation, entrepreneurship and venture capital.”

Read the rest: Colombia’s FM: We share your resilience

As the Totalitarian regime of Barack Hussein Obama turns it back on both Israel and Colombia, both nations will need each other. They share common enemies in Venezuela and Iran. It is good to see Colombia and Israel stand shoulder to shoulder and may the friendship get closer in the coming years.

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Posted in Columbia, Israel, Military | 109 Comments »

US Should Support Colombia against Venezuela

by Phantom Ace ( 164 Comments › )
Filed under Barack Obama, Communism, Liberal Fascism, Progressives, Tranzis, Venezuela at September 30th, 2009 - 10:00 am

This is an article on a situation that is personal for me. My Step dad is Colombian, I am close with his family and I have visited Colombia many times. President Alvaro Uribe has turned that nation around, he’s reduced crime, improved the economy and has crushed the Progressive Movement in Colombia. Colombia is a staunch US ally and is allowing us to use their bases for Drug interdiction. However American Progressives despise him because he modernized his nation through Free Market means, they prefer Venezuela which is a Progressive Regime. The Tyrant of Venezuela is not an American ally and he wants to dominate our Southern Flank , it is time to confront him!

alvaro-uribe

In early September, Colombia’s biggest businesses surprised everyone by declaring their wholehearted support for the country’s president, Alvaro Uribe, in his deepening conflict with Venezuela. If they lost the huge export market next door, well, that would simply be too bad.

For the first time, Colombian exporters of just about everything Venezuela buys, from toilet paper to gasoline, fruit and vegetables, and milk and meat, gave their president the green light to confront Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, instead of continuing to turn the other cheek, as they had been pressing him to do in the eight years since Uribe took office.

Venezuela had become a magnificent business opportunity for Colombian exporters. It produces next to nothing anymore (except oil), has a highly subsidised official exchange rate, and wields huge sums of petrodollars with which it can buy up everything in sight. While Colombia’s authorities were forced to deal with Chávez’s frequent insults, interventions in Colombia’s internal affairs, massive arms purchases, and diplomatic tantrums, the business community profited and pressured the government to compromise. Until now, that is what the government did.

Read the rest.

Chavez with his Petro money is destabilizing Latin America by installing Progressive Regimes via elections. He also supports Progressive parties who are trying to seize power in the Latin countries. Hugo is a menace not just to his neighbors, but to America as well. Colombia is the only nation in South America ready to confront this Totalitarian Progressive Tyrant and we should back them. However, Obama himself is a Progressive and his allies control Congress. He will probably back-stab Colombia to please Chavez and American Progressives.

It is a sad day when America stops backing its allies to please its enemies. Colombia is a great nation with wonderful people, they deserve our support. Again, this is personal for me, and I hope America does the right thing. Sadly with Obama in charge I can’t have that hope.

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Posted in Barack Obama, Communism, Liberal Fascism, Progressives, Tranzis, Venezuela | 164 Comments »