Rapid Changes Among Ministers Damage Uribe's Credibility
NY Times | 19.11.2003 02:15
BOGOTA, Colombia, Nov. 13 â?? When he took office 15 months ago, President Alvaro Uribe said his ministers would remain with him throughout his four-year term, a pledge aimed at casting an image of stability and purpose in a country where governments are usually scorned.
November 13, 2003
By JUAN FORERO
But in the last seven days, Mr. Uribe's reputation has been tarnished with the resignations, in quick succession, of three cabinet ministers, the armed forces commander and the chief of the Colombian National Police.
Political analysts see the changes as an essential house cleaning in the wake of Mr. Uribe's first political defeat: the rejection by voters of a referendum that would have handed him new powers over state spending. Cabinet shake-ups are common here and elsewhere in Latin America after political setbacks.
But the resignations here, announced one day after the other in dour news conferences without explanation, have confused Colombians and raised questions about whether Mr. Uribe's right-leaning administration is running rudderless.
"The change in ministers, little by little, leaves the image that fires are being put out in an improvised manner," Rodrigo Pardo wrote in his column in Thursday's El Tiempo, the country's top paper.
Fernando Cepeda, a political analyst and former Interior Minister, said the changes in ministers will rejuvenate the cabinet and clear out government officials who had become a liability. But Mr. Cepeda said Mr. Uribe should have accepted the resignations all on one day, a Colombian tradition that sits well with voters, and offered an explanation.
"It's not a crisis but the way this is happening â?? instead of coming naturally in a way that strengthens the government â?? gives the sensation of crisis," said Mr. Cepeda. "The problem is that doing this one by one you leave people with a sense of surprise."
Officials in Mr. Uribe's administration, which enjoys strong backing from the Bush administration in its war against three insurgencies, are scrambling to contain the political damage. They say Mr. Uribe, in his drive to break with the past, did not want to carry out the traditional one-day house cleaning of the cabinet.
They say that the departure of the Minister of the Interior and Justice, Fernando Londoño, on Nov. 6 was a must because he had failed in his effort to win approval of the referendum in an Oct. 25 national election. Mr. Londoño's relationship with Congress was also dismal.
The resignation of Marta Lucá Ramirez, the Minister of Defense, was also welcomed by Mr. Uribe because her clashes with several generals and her outspoken manner were seen as counterproductive, said a high-ranking government official close to the president.
"I think what the president has done is remove the two most controversial people from the government, people who were creating problems for the government," the official said.
The shake-up in the security forces â?? the resignation of General Jorge Mora, the armed forces commander, and Teodoro Campo, who headed the police â?? are crucial to invigorating the armed forces, particularly a police force scarred by recent scandals, say political analysts.
Mr. Uribe's replacements for his cabinet could not have been more at odds with those who left.
Sabas Pretelt, the amiable, well-liked director of the National Federation of Retailers, is taking over the Interior and Justice Ministry from Mr. Londoño, who was seen as arrogant and difficult. The new defense minister is Jorge Alberto Uribe, 63, a respected, American-trained economist and businessman who is a close friend of Mr. Uribe.
"I think the message the president sends at the end of the day is, `No fighting, and the president is in charge,' " said the high-ranking official. "Uribe has a lot of credibility here."
Alvaro Uribe, an Oxford-trained technocrat who won the presidency pledging to battle Marxist rebels and root out corruption, still enjoys widespread popularity.
But now more than ever, he must assure Colombians that he still has the steady hands to guide this troubled country of 40 million through more obstacles. The loss of the referendum now means Mr. Uribe must try to obtain the fiscal controls he seeks by pushing legislation through Congress, which he wants approved within a month.
The Congress, though, has been emboldened by the failure of Mr. Uribe's referendum. Colombia, which had shifted to the right with Mr. Uribe's election in May of 2002, has also shown itself to be more open to the left.
In national municipal elections on Oct. 26, Bogota, the capital and the country's largest city, elected a union organizer and former communist as mayor, Luis Eduardo Garzón. The country's second- and third-largest cities also elected left-leaning independents.
By JUAN FORERO
But in the last seven days, Mr. Uribe's reputation has been tarnished with the resignations, in quick succession, of three cabinet ministers, the armed forces commander and the chief of the Colombian National Police.
Political analysts see the changes as an essential house cleaning in the wake of Mr. Uribe's first political defeat: the rejection by voters of a referendum that would have handed him new powers over state spending. Cabinet shake-ups are common here and elsewhere in Latin America after political setbacks.
But the resignations here, announced one day after the other in dour news conferences without explanation, have confused Colombians and raised questions about whether Mr. Uribe's right-leaning administration is running rudderless.
"The change in ministers, little by little, leaves the image that fires are being put out in an improvised manner," Rodrigo Pardo wrote in his column in Thursday's El Tiempo, the country's top paper.
Fernando Cepeda, a political analyst and former Interior Minister, said the changes in ministers will rejuvenate the cabinet and clear out government officials who had become a liability. But Mr. Cepeda said Mr. Uribe should have accepted the resignations all on one day, a Colombian tradition that sits well with voters, and offered an explanation.
"It's not a crisis but the way this is happening â?? instead of coming naturally in a way that strengthens the government â?? gives the sensation of crisis," said Mr. Cepeda. "The problem is that doing this one by one you leave people with a sense of surprise."
Officials in Mr. Uribe's administration, which enjoys strong backing from the Bush administration in its war against three insurgencies, are scrambling to contain the political damage. They say Mr. Uribe, in his drive to break with the past, did not want to carry out the traditional one-day house cleaning of the cabinet.
They say that the departure of the Minister of the Interior and Justice, Fernando Londoño, on Nov. 6 was a must because he had failed in his effort to win approval of the referendum in an Oct. 25 national election. Mr. Londoño's relationship with Congress was also dismal.
The resignation of Marta Lucá Ramirez, the Minister of Defense, was also welcomed by Mr. Uribe because her clashes with several generals and her outspoken manner were seen as counterproductive, said a high-ranking government official close to the president.
"I think what the president has done is remove the two most controversial people from the government, people who were creating problems for the government," the official said.
The shake-up in the security forces â?? the resignation of General Jorge Mora, the armed forces commander, and Teodoro Campo, who headed the police â?? are crucial to invigorating the armed forces, particularly a police force scarred by recent scandals, say political analysts.
Mr. Uribe's replacements for his cabinet could not have been more at odds with those who left.
Sabas Pretelt, the amiable, well-liked director of the National Federation of Retailers, is taking over the Interior and Justice Ministry from Mr. Londoño, who was seen as arrogant and difficult. The new defense minister is Jorge Alberto Uribe, 63, a respected, American-trained economist and businessman who is a close friend of Mr. Uribe.
"I think the message the president sends at the end of the day is, `No fighting, and the president is in charge,' " said the high-ranking official. "Uribe has a lot of credibility here."
Alvaro Uribe, an Oxford-trained technocrat who won the presidency pledging to battle Marxist rebels and root out corruption, still enjoys widespread popularity.
But now more than ever, he must assure Colombians that he still has the steady hands to guide this troubled country of 40 million through more obstacles. The loss of the referendum now means Mr. Uribe must try to obtain the fiscal controls he seeks by pushing legislation through Congress, which he wants approved within a month.
The Congress, though, has been emboldened by the failure of Mr. Uribe's referendum. Colombia, which had shifted to the right with Mr. Uribe's election in May of 2002, has also shown itself to be more open to the left.
In national municipal elections on Oct. 26, Bogota, the capital and the country's largest city, elected a union organizer and former communist as mayor, Luis Eduardo Garzón. The country's second- and third-largest cities also elected left-leaning independents.
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