Money, not votes, opens doors to Colombia’s Congress

[Judi Lynn]

Money, not votes, opens doors to Colombia’s Congress
Aida Avella
Mar 12, 2014 posted by Alexandra Jolly

Elections in Colombia are won with checkbooks, not policies, according to Aida Avella, the Patriotic Union’s (Union Patriotica — UP) candidate for president.

In an interview with Colombia Reports, Avella explained that last Sunday’s congressional elections, heralded as the “most secure” in Colombian history by the minister of defense, were still fraught with corruption, and a different, subtler kind of interference.

“If you have a lot of money you can enter into politics. Very few representatives get into Congress as a result of the votes,” she said.

In the past, elections in Colombia have been inundated with voter intimidation and coercion, fraud and vote buying. Sunday’s elections saw a dramatic reduction in reported instances of violence — as much as 90% according to the minister of the interior — but other issues, such as voter fraud and bribery, remained prevalent, and the power of wealth in the system, said Avella, was more in force than ever.

More:
http://colombiareports.co/response-failed-patriotic-union/

[MisterP]

1. don't be silly! elections always match what people want 101%!

[Judi Lynn]

2. If that weren't true, then Bush wouldn't have won in 2000, and 2004!

Let's hear it for splendid, democratic elections run by US-approved Latin America countries like Honduras and Colombia! They're just the best.