Andres Oppenheimer
Keep an eye on
Granted, many things can go wrong, including a resurgence of Marxist guerrilla violence and a new round of tensions with neighboring
First, Santos, who most recently served as outgoing President
Unlike Uribe, a lawyer by profession, Santos is an economist who graduated from the
Second, Santos may have a better chance than Uribe of getting the
"Santos will get along better with the Democrats because he doesn't have a history (of tensions) with Obama and Clinton," former Colombian President
LESS POLARIZATION
Third, Santos has a less confrontational personality than Uribe, and may be more likely to ease tensions both at home and with
"There is already a new climate of less polarization in the country," Gaviria said. "People feel that the new government won't be constantly fighting with non-government organizations like human rights groups, like Uribe did. And Santos will not allow himself to be isolated internationally, like Uribe did."
Fourth, Santos vowed in his victory speech to fight impunity of human rights abusers, and to improve presidential ties with the justice system, which may improve
'A PRAGMATIST'
Vivanco added, however, that there are concerns in the human rights community over Santos' campaign vows to allow the military to prosecute its members on human rights violations, and to subordinate the attorney general's office to the presidential office.
My opinion: I'm not buying the conventional wisdom in
The Venezuelan president needs a permanent confrontation with
But I think there is an at least even chance that Santos may take
Available at Amazon.com:
At War with the Weather: Managing Large-Scale Risks in a New Era of Catastrophes
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(C) 2010 Andres Oppenheimer