LatinFinance - Special Edition - August 2013 - 57

What’s at stake
Santos’ aim is to demilitarize the farc and
bring them into the political fold. But to
Uribe, granting political legitimacy to the
group is unthinkable.
the government “has placed all the
interest in talks with terrorist groups,” he
says. “We face the risk of granting both
impunity and political eligibility to terrorist
groups.”
as he puts it, the real risk in integrating
marxist revolutionaries into the political
process is of shifting the terms of debate
sharply to the left. What’s at stake is colombia’s very political stability, he warns.
“it is a risky scenario for the country,” he
says. “Why should those involved in atrocities be politically eligible? maybe what this
organization wants is to be granted impunity and political eligibility and to prepare
its path back to undertake government in
the year 2018 and to replicate in colombia
the cuban and Venezuelan model.”
Santos has said the real issue is how far
colombians are willing to go for the sake
of peace. He has also publicly accused his
predecessor and former mentor of misrepresenting his approach.
“there are some who apparently prefer
more years of conflict, more years of pain
and death, to the possibility of peace,” he
said. But as the talks drag on and in the
wake of withering criticism, the president’s
approval ratings have dropped below 50%,
from highs above 74% when he took office.
Uribe insists his own agenda was never
at odds with peace. “We were advancing
a lot in peace,” he says. His role today is
“as a fighter” for his ideals. “this is not a
moment of my ambitions, it’s a moment of
my duty to contribute in the fight [for my
ideals].”
He adds: “the country tasted this possibility [of a secure and prosperous country]
during the eight years of my administration

and i hope the country will never forget
that path.”

ZERO TOLERANCE: Colombia’s peace talks
pose a risk to security and investment, says
former president Álvaro Uribe

Economic cost
Ultimately, though, resolving the conflict
could prove to be a significant boost for the
economy.
asked what peace would now mean
for colombia’s economy, Uribe points to
the economic gains his administration
had achieved through improved security.

©REUTERS

own father was killed by the farc in 1983.
“i’m a member of one family that has
suffered violence, as have 50% of colombians,” he says.
But his detractors argue that Uribe’s
own record is less than spotless: his military campaign against the farc, they say,
was only possible thanks to an alliance
with groups associated with right-wing
paramilitaries – themselves responsible for
much barbarity. Since 2006, more than
60 lawmakers allied with Uribe have been
convicted of colluding with or benefiting
from ties to such groups.

ÁLVARO URIBE

“WE FACE THE RISK
OF GRANTING BOTH
IMPUNITY AND POLITICAL ELIGIBILITY TO
TERRORIST GROUPS”

“it speaks for itself,” he says. “During our
government in the name of security we
advanced a lot of peace, in addition to the
stimuli we introduced to promote investment. the outcome gives you the answer:
domestic investment grew four times and
foreign investment expanded seven times.”
analysts estimate, that ongoing conflict
has cost 1% - 2% of GDP growth per year for
almost 50 years. a peace dividend could be
substantial.
colombians, though, are skeptical: three
previous peace attempts, the last ending
with Uribe took office in 2002, failed. and
if Uribe has his way, the fourth one will
too. LF
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