Colombian democracy took a backward leap with ousting of Bogotá mayor
Colombian democracy took a backward leap with ousting of Bogotá mayor
In removing a presidential rival from office on the basis of a legal technicality, Juan Manuel Santos has done Colombia no favours
Posted by
Jonathan Glennie
Wednesday 9 April 2014 11.27 EDT
theguardian.com
Last month, the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, took a decision that could undermine attempts to present his country as a modern democracy and might affect the delicate peace process being negotiated with the Farc guerrilla group in Havana. He ratified the dismissal of Bogotá's mayor, Gustavo Petro, the country's second most important directly-elected politician, and the highest-profile former guerrilla in public office.
Petro's dismissal was requested last year by Alejandro Ordóñez, the inspector general. A high proportion of public officials in Colombia are linked to violence or organised crime, or implicated in corruption – up to a third of congress members are believed to have links to paramilitary gangs. Indeed, Bogotá's previous mayor is in jail for selling construction work to his cronies.
Petro's crime was failing to follow competition procedures when he moved the city's waste-collection functions from the hands of four large private companies to public ownership. There was no suggestion of any kind of personal gain.
In most democratic countries, this misdemeanour would cost the incumbent at the ballot box; Petro was expected to use the Bogotá job as a basis for a presidential bid. But in a move that suggests Colombia's democracy to be no more than a facade, Petro has not only been ousted but also barred from standing for public office for 15 years.
Petro has described the move as a coup. This is, perhaps, exaggerated language, but the highly political nature of this case is beyond doubt. Observers will recognise a deliberate attempt to undermine a leftwing politician.
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2014/apr/09/colombia-democracy-ousting-bogota-mayor-gustavo-petro
