Colombia Reports

Background

Liberal Party presidential candidate Rafael Pardo is a Colombian politician, journalist and economist, who has spent more than 20 years in the public eye. This is the second time that Pardo has run for president. The first time he didn't get through the primary. Pardo's critics label him as lacking in charisma.

History

1978: After graduating from Bogota's Universidad de los Andes, Pardo becomes a professor and researcher at the same institution.

1982: Pardo becomes Director of the Interdisciplinary Center of Regional Studies at Universidad de los Andes.

1986: Due to his distinguished profile as an academic, President Virgilio Barco names Pardo Director of the National Rehabilitation Plan, a social project with a focus on rural development.

1988: Pardo is named Presidential Adviser for Peace and is in charge of negotiating the peace process with guerrilla groups including the M-19 movement.

1990: President Cesar Gaviria names Pardo National Security Adviser.

1991: Pardo is appointed as Colombian Defense Minister, the first civilian to hold the position in almost 40 years. During his tenure he creates the "Bloque de Busqueda," or Search Block, a unit dedicated to combating drug lord Pablo Escobar's Medellin cartel. Pardo is widely recognized as reforming the largely ineffective Colombian Police Force.

1996: Pardo becomes an Adviser to the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, in Washington D.C.

1998: Pardo tries his hand at journalism and becomes Night News Director for Colombian television channel RCN.

2000: Following his success at RCN, Pardo moves to CM&, where becomes News Director.

2002: Pardo is elected to the Colombian Senate with the Cambio Radical - Colombia Siempre coalition.

2004: After supporting President Alvaro Uribe for two years, Pardo decides to cross the floor and work with the Opposition, the Liberal Party. His defection from the "Uribista" camp is due to his conflicting views to the government's on issues such as paramilitarism and the proposed referendum seeking Uribe's re-election.

2005: Pardo launches his pre-presidential candidacy with the Liberal Party, but comes in second to Horacio Serpa in the primary and does not enter the presidential race.

2006: Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos accuses Pardo of ties to the FARC, an accusation that Uribe later retracts.

2009: The Liberal Party elects Pardo as its National Director. Pardo announces his intention to run for the 2010 presidency.

Policy

2010 campaign slogan: "Vamos a hacer una Colombia justa" - We are going to make a fair Colombia

Rafael Pardo is often asked about his "lack of charisma" in interviews. He always has the same response: they tell me the same at home. This perceived lack of charisma appears to be reflected in presidential candidate popularity polls, where Pardo tends to fare badly.

However according to Colombian political analysis website La Silla Vacia "Pardo's problem is not a lack of charisma. [Presidential candidate] Juan Manuel Santos has even less charisma and he does six times as well in the polls. Pardo's problem with the masses is more linked to something essential in him, which without a doubt would be valuable if he were elected president, but which works against him as a candidate. Pardo is an intellectual. A person who approaches the world through ideas."

This "ideas man" is a protege of former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria and was once a major Uribe supporter. However he distanced himself from Uribe, a move which La Silla Vacia attributes to his concerns over the president's alleged links to paramilitarism. Since then, Pardo has been critical of the Uribe administration. Pardo believes that Colombia needs to move beyond Uribe's "democratic security" policy and address issues such as poverty and unemployment.

Platform

Pardo has a 20 point plan "for a more egalitarian Colombia." Some of his key initiatives are:

• "Peace with or without dialogue" - negotiation with illegal armed groups is only an option if demobilization is guaranteed, and within the norms of international human rights.
• National security - with a focus on prevention, including the creation of a National Guard to reinforce rural security.
• The creation of a National Program for Victims of Violence and a program for the redistribution of land for those displaced by the conflict.
• Greater regional integration, including but not limited to increased multilateral cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

Position on the conflict

"How to end the conflict has been a great obsession in Pardo's life," according to La Silla Vacia. The Liberal has written five books on the topic, including a history of all of Colombia's wars. His policy states that he will not negotiate if demobilization is not one of the terms.

Pardo believes that young people in rural areas will continue to be recruited by illegal armed groups (and democratic security will fail) unless they are presented with other options. Part of his platform focuses on prevention of youth recruitment through education and employment. Pardo also believes that reintegration programs for former guerrillas and paramilitaries "are a failure," and that more emphasis needs to be placed on "re-socializing" the former criminals, so that they don't return to crime.

Foreign Policy

Pardo is critical of the Uribe administration's foreign policy, in particular in relations with neighboring Venezuela. Pardo labels Colombia's accusations over Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's ties to the FARC "counter-productive," and cites the impact on the freeze in trade relations between the two nations as an example.

Pardo advocates the re-establishment of relations with neighboring nations and greater integration into Latin America and the Caribbean.