Pubdate: Sun, 25 Sep 2005
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA)
Section: World News
Copyright: 2005 PG Publishing
Contact:  http://www.post-gazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/341
Author: Henry Chu, LA Times
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

COLOMBIA PRESIDENT RIDES POPULARITY WAVE

Uribe Widely Seen As Tough-Minded

BOGOTA, Colombia -- To hear his critics tell it, Colombian President 
Alvaro Uribe ought to be in trouble.

The foundation of his mandate, a promise to tame this nation's 
unrelenting civil war, is tottering. Attacks by leftist rebels have 
surged since the beginning of the year, and hundreds of soldiers have died.

Accusations of cronyism and nepotism have dogged his administration, 
while unemployment and poverty remain stubborn challenges throughout 
the country. Cocaine continues to be a major export.

But with just a year to go before the end of his term, Uribe, 53, is 
riding a wave of popularity unmatched almost anywhere in the 
Americas. His approval ratings rarely dip below 70 percent, and are 
so resistant to criticism and complaints that some have taken to 
calling him Colombia's Teflon president. Only one other 
democratically elected leader in the region, Venezuela's populist 
president, Hugo Chavez, pulls in such impressive numbers.

How the center-right Uribe, a Harvard-educated attorney who entered 
the presidential race four years ago practically as an unknown, has 
maintained such a high level of support is a testament, analysts say, 
to his government's single-minded pursuit of public security during 
his tenure -- and his carefully cultivated image as a tough-minded, 
hard-working leader and man of the people.

"He confronts problems very directly and in direct, colloquial 
language. He has a great capacity for communication with the ordinary 
citizen," said Alfredo Rangel, director of the Security and Democracy 
Foundation, a think tank in Bogota, the Colombian capital.

In many ways, Uribe's clear-cut, with-us-or-against-us approach to 
the battle against Marxist guerrillas and his appeal to patriotism 
has invited comparisons to President Bush. The two men, both former 
governors, are staunch allies, and Colombia has received billions of 
dollars in aid from Washington for its fight against drug trafficking 
and left-wing guerrillas.

Rangel said Uribe's penchant for portraying issues in such stark 
terms, and the public adulation heaped on him, has had unwelcome 
effects as well, such as stifling legitimate dissent and criticism.

"It has generated an environment where to talk badly about Uribe is 
seen as being unpatriotic, sort of like it was in the U.S. to 
criticize the Iraq war," Rangel said. "To talk badly about Uribe is 
to ruin the collective fiesta. People continue thinking that Uribe is 
a redeemer, and they want to continue believing in their redeemer."

That Uribe's administration has brought about greater social 
stability is hard to deny.

Killings and kidnappings, though still widespread, have fallen since 
he was elected in 2002; this year's homicide rate is on track to be 
the lowest in 25 years.

Attacks on major urban centers by the left-wing Revolutionary Armed 
Forces of Colombia, or FARC, have become rare. Right-wing 
paramilitary groups are engaged in peace and demobilization talks. 
State highways previously too dangerous to travel because of the 
conflict are navigable once again, at least during daylight.
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman