The Colombia Referendum: A Real Chance for Change?

  
Recent allegations of rampant corruption in the Colombian Congress have led President Andrés Pastrana to propose a popular referendum on reforming the constitution. Under his proposal, Colombians would cast their opinions on a range of key issues, most of which involve holding congressional representatives accountable to ethical standards. The referendum would propose making anyone convicted of drug trafficking or financial crimes ineligible for public office, and stripping congressional representatives of their posts if they are found guilty of campaign finance violations or electoral fraud. The voting records of all members of Congress would be made public, and a public ethics tribunal would investigate officials accused of breaking the law. The referendum would also touch on voting procedures, making elections invalid if the number of blank ballots exceeds the number of marked ballots. Finally, it would call for reducing the number of members in the Senate and House of Representatives and schedule new congressional elections for late October.

Pastrana’s proposal has already begun to run into legal and political obstacles. Colombia’s Constitution provides for referendums, but stipulates that the proposed text be submitted for approval to the Congress. Given the subject of this particular referendum, there are concerns over its implementation. The president of the Constitutional Court is on record as saying that Congress can impede a referendum, but others argue that a petition with enough signatures from citizens could override a negative decision. The proposal has also heightened tensions between the president and Congress, which has challenged some of Pastrana’s closest collaborators in the executive branch and rejected many of his proposed economic reforms. Complicating the situation still further is the traditional rivalry between the Liberal and Conservative parties. They have chimed in with their own proposals, ranging from establishing a national constitutional assembly to convoking a referendum on the president himself. They have also threatened to block the October congressional elections if the results of the referendum call for a new vote.

All of these debates are taking place in the context of Colombia’s ongoing guerrilla war and economic crisis. Implementing the referendum will be a formidable challenge; the only real hope is if the Colombian public sees it as a democratic option for denouncing corruption and establishing real controls on the nation’s political officials. In this light, the referendum could represent the starting point for bringing popular sovereignty to bear on the problem of corruption in Colombia.

For more information on the referendum, see www.eltiempo.com and www.banrep.gov.co.