BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos took office yesterday with a strong mandate to keep fighting left-wing guerrillas, spur economic growth and tackle a messy diplomatic dispute with neighbouring Venezuela.
Santos, a former defence and finance minister welcomed by Wall Street, takes over the helm of a much safer Colombia after eight years of former President Alvaro Uribe’s US-backed campaign against Latin America’s oldest rebel insurgency.
A US and British-trained economist, Santos has vowed to continue Uribe’s crackdown on FARC rebels and maintain his pro-business approach, which has seen foreign investment grow five-fold since 2002 as Colombia’s conflict waned.
The new leader has a healthy majority in the Congress. But he must tackle high unemployment and push through reforms to reduce deficits which are blocking Colombia from regaining the investment grade credit status it lost in a 1990s crisis. Colombia has enjoyed a resurgence since Uribe came to power in 2002. Oil and mining investment has soared as rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, were battered and troops recaptured large parts of the country.
Among Santos’ challenges will be managing relations with his Andean neighbours, particularly Venezuela, where President Hugo Chávez has broken off diplomatic and trade ties in a confrontation causing concern about Andean stability.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said he will seek to mediate an end to the crisis and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro traveled to Bogota for the inauguration in a signal of a thaw in relations.
“We want to extend the hand of friendship,” Maduro said upon arriving in Bogota. “We are willing to work on advancing, moving toward the future.”
Chávez, a staunch US foe, accuses close Washington ally Colombia of working with the White House to undermine his socialist government. Colombia says Venezuela allows FARC rebel leaders to seek refuge across its borders.
Santos, son of an elite Bogota family, and Chávez have clashed repeatedly in the past. But both men say they want to mend ties, especially a renewal of $7 billion a year in trade.
While ties with Venezuela have become more tense, relations with Ecuador — which were frayed since a 2008 bombing raid on the FARC in Ecuadorean territory — have improved. President Rafael Correa flew to Bogota to attend the inauguration.
“We are very, very close to reestablishing that confidence with Colombia, and with the presence of President Correa, we are in the last stages of this process,” Ecuador’s Defence Minister Javier Ponce told reporters in Colombia’s capital.
