Lucho Garzón
PEOPLE PROFILE is published every Tuesday and describes the professional background of key people emerging in the political and economic scenario.
Who is Lucho Garzón?
He is the mayor-elect of Bogotá. He is a former presidential candidate
for the Polo Democrático. His career was forged with the Central Unitaria
de Trabajadores (CUT)
Why watch him?
Garzón is a high charisma politician and the mayorship of Bogotá
is a good base camp for an effort at the national presidency. He is a conciliator
rather than a confronter on the issue of how the guerrilla groups operating
in the country should be tackled.
Born: 15 February 1951
Place of birth: Bogotá, Colombia
Education:
He comes from a poor family and only achieved his high school diploma at night
school. He then went to the Universidad Libre to study law, again after doing
a day's work.
Public life:
His political involvement started with the Unión Sindical Obrera (USO),
where he moved up the ranks to become vice-president. His first job was as a
golf caddie at a country club. Then as an apprentice he learnt carpentry before
helping a street vendor who worked door to door in poor parts of town. He later
became a porter for the Congreso Eucarístico del 68 and then a adman
selling space in the first guide to Bogotá's nightlife.
Timeline:
1970-2000: Union leader, focusing on welfare activities.
1995-2001: President of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores.
1996-2002: He worked on trying to achieve a political solution to the
conflict with various guerrilla groups as a member of: (variously) the Consejo
Nacional de Paz; the Comisión de Conciliación Nacional; the Comité
de Búsqueda de la Paz, and the Comisión Facilitadora para los
diálogos con el ELN.
2001: While president of the CUT, he was awarded the George Meany-Lane
Kirkland human rights prize by the AFL-CIO, the main union in the US.
2002: Presidential candidate for Polo Democrático, a coalition
of new parties. He lost to the current president, Alvaro Uribe.
2003: President and candidate for mayor of Bogotá for Polo Democrático
Independiente (PDI). This was a party specifically set up to compete with the
two traditional parties which dominate Colombian politics.
2003: Elected mayor of Bogotá.
Strong points:
He was elected with broad support from a lot of interest groups which had not
been represented by the traditional parties. This sent a clear message to President
Uribe, who has been accused of running an exclusive, rather than inclusive,
government. Lucho Garzón, with his proven political charisma, represents
the main opposition to the president. He has close links with the unions, which
make him the fulcrum of the opposition.
Weak points:
He has no experience of running an administration. The risk is that by taking
unpopular, but correct, decisions, he will lose support. He is sometimes belittled
by traditional politicians, which could make running the biggest urban district
in the country more difficult for him.
Prospects:
Lucho Garzón clearly wants to use his position as mayor to play in the
big league. He will not focus just on street cleaning and traffic lights, but
aims to make a contribution to the big issues facing the country, notably negotiating
with the guerrillas. His party, the PDI, is setting itself up as an alternative
administration. He has to show that it is capable.