86 A BRIEF HISTORY OF COLOMBIA
The Colombian electorate was not only upset with the Pastrana administration
for the failure of the peace talks, but also for its inability to resolve the problems
of high unemployment and the economic downturn. Voters turned to former
Antioquia governor Alvaro Uribe Vélez as the man who would set things straight.
Uribe's father had been kidnapped and killed by the FARC in 1983; as governor
in the mid-1990s, Uribe had enthusiastically embraced a government scheme
that armed peasants to fight the guerrillas-this program was criticized for its ties
with paramilitary groups. As a presidential candidate, Uribe promised to fight
the guerrillas, while opening a peace process with the paras.
Under Uribe's administration, the civil conflict lessened considerably, and the
state has regained a presence in many parts of Colombia — travelling is safer
than it was ten years ago, but there are restricted areas: parts of the Pacific
coast and much of the llanos, for instance. The FARC still has some 10,000
members, but that number is far less than in the late 1990s. A series of victories
by the army culminated in 2008 with the pursuit and killing of the FARC's
number two man, Raul Reyes (on Ecuadoran territory); Tirofijo himself died
shortly thereafter. In July of that year, Colombian armed forces also rescued
Ingrid Betancourt, the three American contractors, and a few other FARC
captives in a dramatic operation. Meanwhile, thousands of paramilitary fighters
laid down their arms during the Uribe peace process — but reinsertion into civil
society has been difficult and incomplete; many paras have reorganized under
different names, again funded by narcotraffickers.
Success against the FARC and with the paras boosted confidence among
international and Colombian investors and the economy began to improve.
Inspired by the positive direction of the country, the constitution was altered to
allow for the reelection of presidents, and Uribe easily won the 2006 contest.
Uribe had a populist touch, going to town hall meetings in far-flung corners of
Colombia on weekends in order to hear the pleas of ordinary citizens. However,
union organizers, community activists, and human rights workers continued to