BOGOTA, COLOMBIA — Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has cleared the last legislative hurdle to running for a third term, a prospect that his U.S. allies look upon with ambivalence.
By a vote of 85 to 5, the lower house of Congress late Tuesday greenlighted a voter referendum early next year that could pave the way for Uribe to be on the May presidential ballot. The Senate approved the measure last month.
If he does run, it would be the second time Uribe has circumvented a constitutional ban on reelection, a measure many Latin American countries put into law to prevent the ascension of caudillos, or political leaders who have kept themselves in power.
First elected in 2002, Uribe was reelected in a landslide in 2006 after Congress authorized a similar referendum to change the 1991 constitution, which limited presidents to one term.
In recent interviews, U.S. officials have acknowledged that they were not enthusiastic about an ally following a path taken by leftist leaders across South America, including Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Ecuador's Rafael Correa and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, who have secured reelection, or are trying to, despite constitutional restrictions.
U.S. officials believe such efforts to cling to power weaken political institutions.
However, State Department and congressional officials, speaking off the record because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said another Uribe candidacy probably would not affect U.S. anti-drug and counter-terrorism assistance to Colombia. Such aid has cost the U.S. more than $6 billion since 2000.
Uribe would be a clear front-runner in the next presidential election. Citizens from a broad spectrum of political and economic backgrounds credit him with restoring security to urban areas and highways, demobilizing right-wing paramilitary groups and seizing the battlefield initiative from the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
For most of his two terms, Uribe has enjoyed voter approval between 60% and 80%, according to Gallup polls. His popularity peaked in the summer of 2008 after Colombian commandos rescued 15 hostages held by FARC rebels, including onetime presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. defense contractors.
"Uribe has changed the spirit and the reality of our nation," said lawmaker Nicolas Uribe Rueda, who voted for the referendum. He is not related to President Uribe. "With four more years, he will have the chance to finally defeat the guerrillas and the paramilitaries."
