Americans’ interest in Central and South America seems to be on the wane. There’s a possible explanation for that. A series of pressing issues — jobs, the economy, health care, midterm elections, the Gulf oil spill, nuclear proliferation, hostilities in the Middle and Far East, to name a few — engages their attention. Private citizens and public officials who ignore events to the nation’s south, though, do so with some risk. What occurs in that still volatile part of the world remains diplomatically and economically important to the United States.
Colombia is a case in point. That nation is a strong U.S. ally and a relatively stable democracy in contrast to some of its neighbors. It just concluded a generally uneventful presidential election in which Juan Manuel Santos, a former defense minister, won office with more than two-thirds of the vote. His victory is a reaffirmation of the democratic process.
He will succeed Alvaro Uribe, an extremely popular, two-term president who was urged to seek a third-term though Colombian law prohibits it. When the Supreme Court ruled against a referendum on a third term, Mr. Uribe calmly accepted the ruling. That’s not the norm in South America. Historically, it’s been far more typical for leaders to ignore the law and to use strong-arm methods to maintain their hold on power.
Though Mr. Uribe and Mr. Santos share many policies — including strong ties to the United States and support of a a free-market economy — the transition from one government to another likely will be difficult. Mr. Santos will be hard-pressed to match his predecessors’ achievements. Mr. Uribe took charge of an almost lawless nation and in eight years stabilized its government, military and economy and almost neutralized the guerrilla movement that once came close to overthrowing the government.
To be successful, Mr. Santos will have to expand that legacy. Colombia, despite its recent gains, is still a nation where extreme poverty remains the norm, where political corruption and human rights violations taint everyday life and where drug trafficking, while diminished, persists. Reducing those problems will be difficult for Mr. Santos, who will enter office in August with a mandate to do so.