Politics Down South

And I mean way down south…

I am keeping my Colombia-blogging mostly contained to PoliBlog, but I thought I would bring attention to the following NYT piece on the presidential elections:  A Maverick Upends Colombian Politics.

Given that the US spends a rather remarkable amount of money in Colombia (because of the drug war), it is worth keeping track of their politics a lot more than the mass press in the US does.

Colombia has a requirement that the president be elected by 50%+1, which typically requires two rounds.  The first round of the current cycle is set for the end of this month.  Up and until a few weeks ago it seemed almost a sure thing that Juan Manuel Santos, the former Defense Minister is the very popular Uribe administration, would be a shoe-in.  However, former Bogotá mayor Antanas Mockus has started to surge and could very well be the next president of Colombia.

Some background (from posts I have written of late):

See also, Reuters: Colombian candidate Mockus edges over Santos: poll

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Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter