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Name: German Vargas Lleras Born: Febrero 19,1962 in Bogota, D.C. Education: Law degree from Universidad del Rosario, Bogota; Ph.D in Government and Political Science at the Madrid Instituto Ortega y Gasset Political Party: Leader of Cambio Radical Vice Presidental candidate: Elsa Noguera Most recent position: Colombian senator Social media links: twitter, facebook, website Quirky fact: German is missing several fingers on his left hand, courtesy of a book bomb. |
Background
Cambio Radical's presidential candidate, German Vargas Lleras is a Colombian politician, who was born into one of Colombia's elite political dynasties. Vargas Lleras is the grandson of former Colombian President Carlos Lleras Restrepo (1964-1970) and the nephew of former presidential candidate and journalist Carlos Lleras de la Fuente.
History
1981: Vargas Lleras begins his political career at the age of 19 and is elected as counsellor of Bojaca, Cundinamarca. He becomes a protege of the Nuevo Liberalismo movement of Senator Luis Carlos Galan, who appoints him political coordinator to a district in Bogota.
1988: Vargas Lleras' experience with Nuevo Liberalismo leads to his election as a Bogota counsellor in 1988, a position he holds for two consecutive terms.
1989: Following Galan's assassination, Vargas Lleras, who is serving as private secretary to the Agriculture Minister, officially joins the Liberal Party.
1994: Vargas Lleras is elected to the Colombian Senate for the first time as a Liberal Party representative.
1998: Re-elected as Liberal Party senator. During his second term, he is fiercely critical of President Andres Pastrana's peace negotiations with the FARC.
2002: The senator's opposition to the peace process brings him closer to Alvaro Uribe, a dissident liberal who runs for the 2002 presidential elections on an independent ticket. Vargas Lleras decides to support Uribe's candidacy, leaves the Liberal Party and wins a third term in the Senate with political movement Colombia Siempre. Five months into his third term, Vargas Lleras loses several fingers on his left hand, when a book bomb he receives as a gift is detonated. Members of guerrilla groups the FARC and the ELN are accused of sending Vargas Lleras the book bomb.
2003: Vargas Lleras consolidates his position in the Senate as one of the leader's of President Alvaro Uribe's coalition. That same year he joins political party Cambio Radical.
2004: Elected leader of Cambio Radical.
2005: Vargas Lleras is the victim of a car bomb but escapes unharmed.
2006: Re-elected to the Senate with Cambio Radical.
2008: Resigns from the Senate.
2009: Vargas Lleras launches his presidential candidacy in June. A firm supporter of Uribe and his democratic security policy, Vargas Lleras' staunch opposition to Uribe's re-election referendum leads him to distance himself from the Uribista faction. He subsequently loses many followers to Partido de la U candidate Juan Manuel Santos.
Policy
2010 campaign slogan: "Mejor es possibe" - Better is possible.
Colombian political analysis website La Silla Vacia describes Vargas Lleras as a "political fox," who despite being born with a silver spoon in his mouth, has got where he is got where he has from his own merit. "He is a man of detail... a strategist par excellence... He makes no effort to please, he says it how it is, straight to the point."
Vargas Lleras is the most right-wing of the candidates. His campaign slogan reflects his generally pro-Uribe stance, he admires what Uribe has achieved, particulary in terms of security. Analyists view him as one of the candidates that is most like Uribe. Vargas Lleras was a staunch "uribista," who some view as having shot himself in the foot by opposing Uribe's re-election referendum and thereby ruining his chances as taking over as Uribe's successor.
According to La Silla Vacia, Vargas Lleras is conservative but "his ideas are progressive. Aside from the security issue, Vargas Lleras is close to [fellow presidential candidate] Rafael Pardo on the ideological spectrum.
Platform
- Strengthen and amplify Uribe's policy of democratic security
- Implement a national policy for urban security to combat crime
- Revive the Ministry of Justice (currently the Ministry of Interior and Justice)
- Restructure the taxation system
Position on the conflict
Vargas Lleras is known for his hardline stance on the FARC. He is opposed to a "humanitarian exchange" of FARC hostages for incarcerated guerrillas because he does not see it as a solution to the conflict.
The Cambio Radical candidate views Colombia's border with Venezuela as a strategic exit and entry point for FARC guerrillas. He proposes a the development of a National Border Patrol, as a branch of the national police, "to break the supply the supply point and impede the cross-border mobility of the guerrillas."
Foreign Policy
- Maintain and strengthen relations with the U.S. and Europe
- Seek approval of U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement
- Strengthen ties with Caribbean nations
- Develop mulitlateralism in the region
- Enter into the Asia-Pacific market
Vargas Lleras is anti-Chavez and critical of the socialist President's leadership of Venezuela. He asked the Colombian foreign ministry to withdraw their diplomatic representation from Venezuela.
