So, the results are in. And it was a landslide.
With a staggering 30 percent of the over a million online votes, ex-president of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, has been declared the Greatest Colombian of All Time by the History Channel. Showing that Colombia is always a country of enormous contrasts, this is nearly twice the amount of votes received by the next “Greatest Colombian,” Jaime Garzon, and around six times the amount won by, for example, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. What do you guys make of all this?
Whatever you think, it’s undeniable that Uribe is a prominent figure in Colombian politics, a field not lacking in significant players of all stripes. On the one hand, he’s touted for significantly improving the security situation of the country, making it much safer and easier for you to travel to Colombia (and if you haven’t come here yet, what’s going on?). On the other, he’s been embroiled in a number of scandals, including wire-tapping and corruption.
We think there are many worthy candidates for this title, many that didn’t even make it to the final 25. However, Uribe’s romped it in. Here are some thoughts from you guys in See Colombia’s Facebook group about this already:
One Colombian thinks: “The two most noted, most voted for, are the great Jaime Garzon and Uribe; the first represents truth, peace, hope and the denunciation of corruption and violence, the other, represents the contrary. Our country, our Colombia, is extremely bipolar.”
Another has ideas along similar lines: “A country that is happy to be able to travel and use its highways that do not even connect the whole country and people still live in unreachable places…that’s why this man, Alvaro Uribe, is the greatest Colombian?? Do you forget how corrupted was his government and still it is?”
Or, more simply: “A political campaign. Garbage.”
Not particularly glowing recommendations.
What do you think? Have 300,000 Colombians got it wrong, or are our readers’ views just anomalies?
Does Alvaro Uribe, compulsive Tweeter and president of Colombia for two consecutive terms, deserve to be crowned the greatest Colombian of all time?
