Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez may have left office with the approval of more than 70 percent of Colombians, but some Georgetown students and faculty do not share the same appreciation for our new distinguished scholar. Protesters on campus this week cried foul over Uribe’s human rights record, alleging that his administration didn’t do enough to prevent the deaths of innocent civilians, and that his policies have forced many Colombians from their homes. These protests ignore the fact that Uribe has brought stability, safety, liberty and greater economic opportunity to a country that was once close to becoming a failed state.
Before Uribe assumed his presidency, drug cartels and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) waged a war against the Colombian people through a campaign of kidnappings, terrorism and assassinations, targeting any politician, journalist or police official who dared stand in the way. The violence and instability decimated the Colombian economy, increasing the suffering of an already impoverished nation.
Once in office, Uribe acknowledged these threats and devised a plan to defeat them, implementing his initiatives with great success. In 2004, Uribe commenced the “Patriotic Plan,” a military operation that sent 15,000 soldiers to eradicate the FARC. The plan removed the FARC from many urban environments, and liberated thousands of Colombians from the revolutionary group’s harsh rule.
Uribe’s intensified military efforts also exponentially decreased the amount of kidnappings in Colombia. According to the BBC, an estimated 3,500 kidnappings took place in 2000; by 2007 there were only 400. Uribe freed thousands of Colombians from the reign of fear that they lived with under the FARC. Now, families can live in a safer, more stable Colombia.
The operation against the FARC has also allowed Colombians to regain one of the most fundamental human rights: to work and provide for one’s family. When Uribe took office in 2002, the poverty rate was 54 percent, and urban unemployment rested at 19 percent. Today, the poverty rate has decreased to 46 percent and urban unemployment is at 12.3 percent. While these numbers remain high, they demonstrate how Uribe’s efforts have allowed many Colombians to get back to work and increase their quality of living.
Another major success of Uribe’s leadership is the decrease in the production and trafficking of drugs in Colombia. With the help of U.S. aid in the war on drugs, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reports that there has been a significant decline in the production of cocaine in 2008. The shrinking size of the cocaine industry has decreased corruption and violence, and has taught young Colombians that they can make a living outside of the drug business.
Critics of Uribe claim he has a poor human rights record because of the killings of union organizers in Colombia. While many were killed on his watch, The New York Times reported in 2008 that since Uribe took office there has been a marked decline in union killings. In fact, while Uribe was in office, the killing of union leaders declined from 196 per year to 28.
Opponents also bemoan the increase in refugees under Uribe. While there has been an increase, this is not due to human rights violations, but rather due to the president’s commitment to defeat the FARC and establish a prosperous and stable Colombia. Any plan to eliminate the FARC will inevitably cause an increase in short-term violence that will lead to an increase in refugees. Now that Uribe has made Colombia a more secure nation, however, we should see these refugees returning home to a nation with more prosperity and opportunity.
As a third generation Colombian, I am proud to have Uribe teaching at Georgetown. He has liberated Colombians from the tyranny of the FARC and has given citizens the opportunity to live in peace with a viable democracy and strengthening economy.
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