Researched by Kerry Headley and Daniel DelMonte
Columbian President Alvaro Uribe seeks to ensure a third presidential term by bypassing a provisional election and proposing a series of amendments to the Columbian constitution that would relinquish various powers related to the country’s Supreme Court and the capacity to investigate existing congressional politicians and state officials connected to the parapolitica. Uribe had originally announced a referendum in response to the Supreme Court’s investigation and report on the illegalities concerning his 2006 re-election, which included the bribing of a congresswoman now serving a prison sentence for her involvement. Uribe’s action occurred amidst revelations that members of his administration are linked to paramilitaries who facilitated the deaths and disappearances of Columbian citizens and who have since been extradited to the US.
“A Third Term in Office? Entrenching Columbian Authoritarianism” James J. Brittain, Upside Down World.org, 9/3/2008 http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1453/68/