Foreign Digest: Colombia and Bolivia

Colombia: A center-right Colombian Senator died last week of wounds suffered in June by an assassin. The murdered Senator had been a leading possible presidential candidate. The leftwing Government of Colombia has arrested the juvenile assassin and several of the other conspirators. The ruling party won the elections two years ago for the first time in the South American State. Bolivia: Bolivia is holding the first round of presidential elections today. The ruling Socialist party has been in power for 20 years, but is split three ways between a candidate favored by the incumbent President, a second candidate who is a former authoritarian President who is term-limited but advocating for Bolivians to cast blank ballots to undermine the legitimacy of the vote, and a third candidate who is a legislator who offers himself as a conciliatory choice between the other two Socialist candidates. A conservative former President and a center-right legislator are the two candidates leading in the polls. Bolivia was swept up by the Socialist revolution in Latin America that emanated from Venezuela in 2002, but which has since been set back in several States. The revolution led to the election of socialists and far-left anti-American leaders who became increasingly authoritarian and eliminated or tried to eliminate presidential term limits, while wrecking their economies with socialist policies, and often fostering public corruption. As no candidate is expected to win a majority in today’s balloting, Bolivians will head to the polls for a runoff election in several weeks.