Colombia's Uribe mulls re-election, but will he run?
BOGOTA (Reuters) - His popularity soaring and once-powerful rebels at their weakest in years, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is considering an unprecedented third term and looks untouchable should he decide to run in 2010.
The conservative U.S. ally is credited by many with rescuing Colombia from chaos and his approval ratings stand at around 90 percent.
But convincing Congress and the courts to clear the constitutional reform needed for a re-election would be complicated and even talk of extending Uribe's rule raises protests from some who say it would be a threat to democracy.
Uribe remains evasive. He says he wants new leaders, but he has not yet picked a successor. Most analysts believe he is trying to keep his enemies guessing and allow himself room to maneuver in his term's remaining two years.
"The nation's politics and even economic dynamism will revolve around this process, and depend in good measure on its outcome," El Tiempo daily said in an editorial. "It is marked by the great unanswered question: Does Uribe want to or not?"
Uribe was re-elected in 2006 after one constitutional amendment. Now supporters have handed in five million signatures for a referendum on another reform to allow a third successive term.
The proposal must pass through four debates in Congress and a review by Colombia's constitutional court before any referendum could be held, most likely in the second half of next year.
One source close to the presidency says Uribe is in "deep meditation" over what re-election would mean for Colombia's democracy, how his security and investment policies can be maintained and which candidate might best guarantee them.
"I think he is keeping this close to his chest," another source close to the government said. "Without that guarantee, he may have to go again himself."
THREAT TO DEMOCRACY
During his six years in office, Uribe's popularity has grown as the country's long conflict has ebbed.
The FARC rebel group has been beaten back after Uribe plowed billions of dollars in U.S. aid into sending troops to retake control of large areas of the country. Bombings and kidnappings have fallen, and investment has rocketed.
His popularity was already high and got another huge lift in July after the rescue of a group of rebel hostages, including French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. contract workers, held for years in jungle camps.
But critics worry that will translate into a re-election riding roughshod over institutions. Some see authoritarian tendencies in Uribe's open clashes with the Supreme Court.
"A new Uribe re-election, independent of how you qualify his government ... puts Uribe up there with other Latin American autocrats," Liberal party Sen. Juan Fernando Cristo said. Continued...
