Word: colombia
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...foreign investment, which sparked an economic boom. After seven years in office, Uribe's approval rating stands at 68%, according to a recent Gallup poll. And if he's given the chance to run in the May 2010 election, several opinion surveys show Uribe mopping up. (See pictures from Colombia's narco underworld...
Like many South American nations with painful histories of abusive autocrats and military dictators, Colombia had long tried to limit presidential power. The 1991 constitution banned re-election. Uribe was allowed to run in 2006 only after lawmakers amended the constitution in a controversial move that led to accusations of vote-buying. Now, with Uribe's blessing, pro-government legislators are trying to change the rules yet again. (See pictures of guerrillas battling Uribe's government...
Several speed bumps lie on Uribe's road to re-election. Colombia's House and Senate must reconcile different versions of the re-election bill, which then must pass muster by the Constitutional Court. The issue would then be put before voters near the end of the year. At least one quarter of the electorate - about 7 million people - has to turn out to vote for the result to be deemed valid. If the "yes" votes outnumber the "no" votes by any margin - even just one vote - the referendum is passed...
Former President Cesar Gaviria calls the effort "inappropriate, unconstitutional and illegal" and claims that by focusing on re-election, the Uribe government has been sidetracked from more pressing issues like the recent slowdown of Colombia's economy. But Gaviria and other naysayers are badly outnumbered by average people who view Uribe as one of the greatest leaders in Colombia's recent history...
...President has cultivated this grass-roots support through a series of televised town-hall meetings. On Saturday, he took his road show to a high school gymnasium in Pereira, a city in the heart of Colombia's coffee belt. Rolling up his sleeves and reveling in the minutiae of crop prices and road-paving projects, Uribe seemed more like an alderman. He cracked jokes, fielded requests for new ambulances and even got into a debate over the best spot to build a small sugar mill...