Today there are two clear directions, which Latin American countries are taking. While leaders in few countries look towards the future and work to improve their current situation, most, idolize the past and use populist rhetoric to consolidate power and regress on the democratic progress made in the past twenty years. The two Latin Americas can be seen in the recent clash between Venezuela and Colombia. While Colombia has made a clear effort to improve the conditions for future generations, Venezuela has done the opposite, taking a clear step backwards.

For part of the 20^th century, Venezuela had democratic governmental institutions and frequently held elections. However, by the end of the century, the Venezuelan people were growing frustrated with the two party power sharing structure that had become corrupt, selfish, and unresponsive. It’s in this context that Hugo Chavez appears on the scene. Chavez rose to power in a popularly supported military coup, promising an end to “politics as usual”. Instead, President Chavez has led his country backwards, claiming to be a “Bolivarian Revolutionary” Chavez has used all his efforts to consolidate his power and weaken all of Venezuela’s frail democratic institutions.

In a historic parallel to his Cuban counterpart, Chavez has nearly destroyed any and all judiciary, legislative, and media opposition. The Supreme Court and its lower courts have been packed with “yes men” that will approve any measure proposed for the “bolivarian revolution”. Members of opposition parties in the legislative branch have been threatened, beaten, and intimidated to vote with Chavez. Additionally, Chavez has kept a close watch on opposition journalist and media outlets, threatening the lives of individuals and refusing to renew broadcasting licenses. For these and other reasons, human rights organizations in the world have become concerned with the Chavez regime. In his most recent attempt to control Venezuela, Hugo Chavez tried to pass a referendum that contained provisions giving his government limitless powers and allowing him to serve as “President for Life”. Fortunately, the referendum failed by a very small margin, a sign of dissent and displeasure coming from a portion of the Venezuelan population.

On the other hand, over the past six years Colombia has improved at an impressive rate. For over 35 years, Colombia had been fighting a civil war with guerilla and paramilitary naro-trafficking organizations. During the 1960’s, the leftist Marxist group FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias) and the ELN (Ejercito de Liberación Nacional) emerged as new socio-political organizations. The FARC originated as a guerilla movement that intended to bring about a Marxist-socialist revolution at any cost. The ELN emerged as a counter reaction to the FARC, a paramilitary right wing group intended to protect and defend Colombia from Marxist ideology. However, over the years, the purpose and intentions of both right and left wing organizations shifted. By the 1980’s both the FARC and ELN were heavily involved in the emerging drug trade industry of Colombia. The situation escalated to the point where the drug cartels were acting as an extreme destabilizing force in Colombia, and as a result, there were large areas of the country that were out of access and control of the government. Additionally, kidnappings, public executions, and acts of terrorism had become the norm for Colombian society. In 1999 Colombia produced 80% of the world’s cocaine and Bogotá, the capitol city, was considered one of the most dangerous and violent cities in the world.

When President Uribe was elected in 2002, few Colombians had hope that instability and violence could be stopped. However, President Uribe has proven otherwise. From the first day of his presidency Uribe implemented a plan to extend state authority and create a security situation unfavorable to narco-terrorist organizations. Six years later and in his second term, President Uribe holds a steady sixty percent approval rating. Uribe has successfully begun to secure Colombia by expanding and recruiting new military officers and using the policing powers of the state to stabilize regions of the country that were previously out of control. This includes securing the road and energy infrastructure of the country, reaching out to remote and previously ignored towns, and enhancing governance and social services in Colombia. Although there is still much work to be done, the Uribe administration has improved the condition of human rights, advanced the peace process demobilizing most paramilitary organizations, and checked a large percent of the drug trafficking in the country. All of these elements combined have allowed for stability, which has reduced violence dramatically and allowed the economy to grow.

Last week, the world witnessed a clash between the two Latin Americas when President Uribe sent Colombia’s military after the FARC, which was hiding out a few meters into Ecuador. Hugo Chavez and Ecuador reacted by moving their militaries to the Colombian border and demanding an apology. This brief international conflict could have escalated into a worse situation and should illustrate the dangers of Venezuela’s populist, oil rich, media hungry dictator. Much of the rest of Latin America followed Venezuela and condemned Colombia’s actions demanding an apology. Realistically, Colombia had every right to go after a terrorist organization that threatens its national security and for years has been seeking refuge by crossing the border into Venezuela and Ecuador. Furthermore, in recent days, evidence from a FARC computer demonstrates that Mr. Chavez may have corresponded with leaders of the FARC and given 300 million dollars to the organization. Additionally, the FARC may have helped during President Correa’s (Ecuador) election bid. If Colombia has evidence that demonstrates FARC ties to left leaning Latin American governments, then President Uribe should pursue a case in international courts exposing and seeking punishment for countries that cooperate, harbor, and finance the FARC. While much of Latin America is repeating patterns from the past, Colombia has demonstrated tremendous improvement that envisions the future of the country, and international community should not punish them for it.

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