Colombia's New President: Juan Manuel Santos
This post was written by CIP intern Sarah Kinosian
In Colombia's run-off presidential election this past Sunday, former defense minister Juan Manuel Santos took 69 percent of the vote to beat two-time Bogota mayor Antanas Mockus, who received 28%. The victory margin was the widest in the country's history. Despite initial polls that showed public support for Mockus, Santos was the favored candidate going into the election following the results of the first-round vote on May 30th. As a previous member of current President Alvaro Uribe's cabinet, it is expected that Santos, who also received overwhelming support from the outgoing president, will continue many of his predecessor's policies, particularly with regard to the FARC and narcotrafficking.
As anticipated, the Obama administration showed its support for Santos, saying that it was "looking forward" to working with Santos to "advance common goals" for the benefit of both countries. State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley continued that because of Colombia and the United States' "shared interests," he "did not anticipate a significant change" in the bilateral relationship between the two countries. Many Uribe and Santos supporters hope that the change in government will prompt the U.S. Congress to ratify the free-trade agreement that Uribe negotiated during the Bush administration. Santos also received congratulations from European Council president Herman Van Rompuy, who stated that the newly-elected president could "count on the support of the European Union." Both Germany and France extended their best wishes to Santos with French President Nicolas Sarkozy sending a letter to the new president urging him to visit France "very soon."
Santos welcomed calls from various regional leaders following Sunday's victory, including Chilean president Sebastián Piñera and Peru's Alan Garcia who reiterated what Santos has described as a "good friendship." During a discussion with Argentine leader Cristina Kirchner, who called Santos Sunday night to extend her congratulations, both leaders pledged to "continue working to develop relations" between the two countries. Brazilian President Lula da Silva proposed that the countries "join forces in international forums" as "Brazil and Colombia share the same geography, have a vast, common border, and face similar challenges." Guatemalan president Álvaro Colom also offered Santos any "support and collaboration," urging him to "work hard for Colombia," and Mexican President Felipe Calderon invited Santos to "strengthen collaboration to address regional and global challenges."
Even Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa called to congratulate Santos on his win, despite tense relations between the two countries, which began to sour following the Colombian army's 2008's attack - during Santos' tenure as defense minister - on a FARC camp in Ecuador. Since then diplomatic relations have continued to be strained, as evidenced by an Ecuadorian court's issue of an arrest warrant for Santos for his role in the attack, and Correa's warnings that diplomatic relations could not be mended until the Colombian government discloses all information retrieved from FARC computers recovered in the cross-border mission. Santos said that he and Correa spoke amicably about "a way in which to find a better route to improve relations and accelerate this process." In response, Ecuadorian chancellor Ricardo Patiño said that while the Correa administration would welcome such developments, it is "worried about what could happen in the future" and that Ecuador will proceed "with caution."
Santos did not receive a call from Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, who, leading up to Sunday's election, had continually criticized Santos, labeling him a "warmonger" and warning that tensions with Colombia could worsen if elected. However, on Monday the Venezuelan government did publish a five-paragraph communiqué congratulating the Colombian people and president on the victory. In the message, Chavez wished Santos success and said that he hoped that Santos would demonstrate the "sincerity and respect" needed to improve relations. The statement also said that the Venezuelan government "would be very attentive, not only to the new government's declarations, but also to [Santos'] actions, which will ultimately shape the type of relation that could be possible." Santos responded that the communication was "a good first step towards re-establishing relations" but that he does not want to rush into making any policy decisions at present.
While many analysts see Santos as an extension of Uribe, it remains to be seen how the new president-elect will respond to regional tensions, especially to Chávez in particular, and address the previous administration's recent central intelligence scandal and ongoing human rights abuses.