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Uribe's success Published: August 10 2004 05:00 | Last updated: August 10 2004 05:00 The protracted drug-fuelled war in Colombia is far from over, but the energetic leadership of Alvaro Uribe has helped improve the
country's prospects to an extent not seen for at least a decade. The popular president, who passed the halfway mark in his four-year term in office at the weekend, has put left-wing guerrillas on the defensive and brought right-wing para-militaries to the negotiating table. His supporters now look likely to engineer a constitutional change to allow him to run for a second term, but they must think carefully about the potential costs of such a move. The rules limiting a president to one term in office are outdated and out of step with practice - not just in Latin America but in the wider democratic world. Four years is too short a time to get to grips with the problems of any country, let alone the kind of intractable difficulties faced by Colombia. Moreover, there are good pragmatic reasons to keep Mr Uribe at the helm. He has brought a new urgency to policing operations and broken the complacency of military leaders traditionally happier in the barracks than in the streets. It is now safe to drive between Colombia's cities and even the remotest towns and villages enjoy police or military presence. Attacks on pipelines, energy installations and other infrastructure are less common. So are kidnappings and car theft. Several oil companies have already returned to a country written only off recently as too insecure. However, there could be negative consequences of changing the constitution to allow a second successive term. His supporters should be aware that changing the rules so Mr Uribe can run again will expose him to accusations that he is unwilling to relinquish power. It is one thing to make sensible constitutional change but another to be seen to be benefiting from it. Colombians will also remember Latin America's recent experience with constitutional reform to permit second terms. Like Mr Uribe, Peru's Alberto Fujimori and Argentina's Carlos Menem were widely lauded as national saviours during their first terms in office in the early 1990s. Both men changed the rules to permit their re-election but lost their way during second terms. By the time they left government at the end of the decade both had become political pariahs. Brazil's experience was more positive but, even so, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's second term was less successful than his first. It is essential that Mr Uribe institutionalises the innovations he has introduced to Colombian governance so progress is not so dependent on his involvement. Skilled political leadership will help Colombia - and other Latin American countries - meet the challenges of the 21st century but it must be accompanied by institutional change...