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.