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| Political marriage -Mockus and Parody |
Whoever wins needs a clear mandate. But polls show that the electorate are hopelessly divided. There is a bewildering number of candidates to choose from and votes are spread relatively evenly, and consequently thinly. Worryingly, neither of the two front runners - Gustavo Petro and Enrique Penalosa - are polling above even 20%. What Bogota desperately doesn't need is a mayor who's scraped to victory.
Welcome news today then that former mayor Antanas Mockus and Gina Parody have joined forces and will now stand on the same platform. This narrows the field, offering a chance to vote both for experience and a fresh state at the same time - an always intoxicating political cocktail.
Two days ago, this website reported on Penalosa's bid, and Uribe's support - this story eclipses that.
Why is this year's race so important?
There are four million Bogotanos eligible to vote; and they have five weeks to decide for whom. Before today there were 11 candidates in the race.
Amid the understandable voter confusion, one thing is clear - Bogota needs a leader committed to, and capable of, undoing the legacy of the last few years. Public fiances are deep in the red, long-overdue infrastructure works remain incomplete, or un-started, while corruption and day-to-day security appear to have worsened, rather than improved.
For the most part Bogota remains a hugely successful city, but public confidence in its governance has nose-dived. Only three in ten Bogotanos believes the city is on the right track.
In 2003 Mockus and Penalosa handed over a city transformed. Infamously toxic unsafe and chaotic, Bogota was shunned by investors and tourists in the 80s and early 90s. But Bogota is now a modern city, the financial heart of the fourth largest economy in the region, a tourist mecca and one of Latin America's greenest and most live-able cities. Recent bad government has not ruined the city (as some more alarmist commentators appear to suggest) - but it has failed in its duty to continue its improvement. Mockus and Penalosa's work must be built on, not undone.
Bogota must elect a politician who can restore public confidence in the office and recapture the spirit of the Mockus and Penalosa years. The Mockus/Parody union will attract voters tempted by the experience and success of Mockus' previous time in office but who are also looking for a different type of politics - that offered by the independent voice of a new generation of politicians.
Does today's news change the race?
Yes - but it's too early to tell whether this move has blown it wide open. How will the other candidates respond?
Parties and candidates have until Friday to decide what to do. After that, no further changes can be made to the ballot paper. Two questions remain to be answered between now and then. Will there be any further alliances, and which of the Mockus/Parody pact will be chosen to lead the movement? Listening to interviews with both Parody and Mockus today, it's clear both are being coy about whose name will appear before voters on October 30. The calculation must be whether voters on balance want the hope of the new or the voice of experience. We'll find out what their advisers conclude on/by Friday.
1 comments:
This gives a fascinating insight into the maelstrom of politics in the capital city and surely the rest of the country will take its lead from events there. The positive developments in the city's international standing will make the election an interesting spectacle for foreigners as well as locals. I will be interested in developments and will keep checking your website. I urge you to send copy to the USA and UK media - it's about time this news reached a wider audience.
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