Obama and Uribe Talk Trade and Term Limits

Colombian President Álvaro Uribe met with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama June 29 to discuss the future of the stalled free-trade agreement and Uribe’s political future. At the meeting, Obama praised Uribe’s achievements on improving security and his fight against drug cartels. The U.S. leader even joked about how difficult it would be to match Uribe’s 70 percent approval ratings after two terms in office. Still, Obama advised Uribe against running for a third consecutive presidential term and used U.S. President George Washington’s experience as an example of statesmanship: “[A]t a time when he could have stayed president for life, he made a decision that after service, he was able to step aside and return to civilian life. And that set a precedent then for the future.”

Obama’s counsel for Uribe to avoid a third term through constitutional change coincided with world attention on Honduras. A day earlier, a coup occurred in the Central American country after Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, planned to go forward with a referendum deemed illegal by the country’s main institutions. Obama expressed his support for democratically elected Zelaya and described the overthrow as “not legal.” Colombia also rejected the coup.

In Colombia, a referendum to pave the way for Uribe’s reelection still faces hurdles in Congress and already shows signs of fatigue among supporters. Cambio magazine explains that the chances to approve the legislation are slim, even with Uribe spending his political capital to move it forward. But Semana magazine says, “Uribe has radicalized his position about the referendum,” and that he sees it “as a matter of pride.”

The pending bilateral free-trade pact was also a central conversation point for the two leaders during their White House meeting. Obama offered his support for the deal but explained that concerns linger in U.S. Congress over human rights violations against Colombian labor leaders. At the summit, Uribe said that “we are very receptive to receive any advice, any suggestion that help us see how we can achieve our goals of zero human rights violations in Colombia.” After an event co-hosted by the Council of the Americas at the Wilson Center on the morning of June 30, Uribe said he had found Obama “more disposed and interested” in the trade deal. COA’s Eric Farnsworth blogs for Americas Quarterly, the two leaders’ meeting shows “that the bilateral agenda with Colombia goes well beyond passage of one agreement, as important as that is, and that the U.S.-Colombia relationship is strong and enduring.”

Learn more:

• COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth’s AQ blog post about Obama’s meetings with Uribe and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.
• AS/COA coverage of Uribe’s dilemma about his second consecutive reelection.
• Americas Quarterly’s web exclusive about whether Uribe will seek reelection.
• Transcript of Obama-Uribe press conference following their June 29 meeting.
• Colombia’s constitution.
• Text of the pending U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement.
• Semana analysis of U.S.-Colombia relations.