Even before President Alvaro Uribe's political reform is ready to be put to the electorate, he is floating the possibility of an additional one, to be voted on only by legislators: the lifting of the constitutional ban on reelection.
Uribe has been dropping hints about this for days, expressing 'concern' that the remainder of his term of office (he has three years to go) might not suffice to see all of his aims brought to fruition. On 20 July he told the newly installed congressmen that they should double their response time to the public's 'concerns and fears'.
That same day, a group of 40 pro-Uribe legislators, headed by the outgoing leaders of the senate and lower chamber, Luis Alfred Ramos and William Vélez, submitted a bill lifting the ban on reelection. The reason, as put by Vélez: 'Four years is too short a time for a good government to carry out its plans.'
Until 1991, when a constitutional reform introduced the ban, Colombian presidents were allowed to run for re-election, but only after allowing a full term of four years to elapse after quitting office.
Two days later, an opinion survey commissioned by Radio Cadena Nacional showed 63.6% of respondents in favour of lifting the ban on reelection. Formally, Uribe has yet to give his blessing to the reelection initiative.
Worth noting: the bill also lifts the ban on the reelection of local and regional authorities -due to be renewed on 26 October -a day after Uribe's political reform referendum is voted on.
On the crest. Uribe is still riding high in the polls, with the latest Invamer Gallup survey, released last week, giving him a 70% approval rating among urban Colombians. This is six points higher than his government's rating.
The public appears more divided on his management of the economy: 48% for, 45% against. When the poll gets down to specifics, attitudes harden: on such matters as the cost of living and unemployment the disapproval rating is 62%.
Uribe also enjoys high rates of approval for his handling of the guerrillas (67%) and paramilitaries (60%), and as many as 69% believe that the military are capable of beating the guerrillas.
However, there is no clear majority in favour of a military solution to the internal conflict: 48% want it, but 47% favour a negotiated outcome.
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