Knowing When To Say When: Colombia Edition

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is rightfully heralded for bringing the FARC to heel and helping to turn his nation's economy into one of continent's most dynamic, but he's got this unsettling habit of refusing to deny rumors that he wants a third term. Uribe is in the midst of his second term now, which he was able to serve only after modifying the constitution. He'd have to make another change to allow him to stand for a third term. If this makes you think of his neighbor Hugo Chávez, you're not alone. Uribe isn't the buffoon or the regional menace that Chávez is, but dictatorial tendencies are worrying regardless of who is exhibiting them, or at what volume. Uribe seems to think that Colombia's problems are so grave that only he can be trusted to confront them. If that's the case, the country hasn't advanced as much during Uribe's two terms as he claims. Colombia doesn't have a long history of effective democracy, but let's hope the nation firmly rejects this idea.