COLOMBIA: Former Green Party Prez Candidate Mockus Quits The Party...Over Uribe Praise; Uribe Critiques Santos Via Twitter.

C.REPORTS

The Green Party's stalwart and often eccentric former presidential candidate Antanas Mockus has resigned from it...rather than be associated with any support for ex-President Alvaro Uribe.
The Green's Bogota mayoral candidate Enrique Peñalosa has praised Uribe.

Mockus could not accept the many scandals of the Uribe administration, the "false positives," false demobilizations and wiretapping.

Although recognizing some Uribe achievements, Mockus believes they were done "at the expense of limits established in the constitution," and added "there are things I cannot digest."

AND:  Former President Uribe (above) has been busy recently Twittering his 470,000 followers... and challenging the policies of  current President Santos. Santos has mostly avoided responding to the comments.
    But says an observer...“He (Uribe) wants to be an actor and found his vehicle through Twitter. Uribe is a political animal and he is looking for his place. His poll numbers are still very high. Santos has got to be careful.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/8569055/Alvaro-Uribe-tweets-criticisms-of-successor.html

COLOMBIA: Defeated 2010 Prez Candidate Mockus Won't Run For Bogota Mayor.

C.REPORTS/
    Perhaps you too have been wondering whatever happened to Antanas Mockus, the offbeat but interesting Green Party candidate, who seemed destined to be elected President of Colombia in 2010--only to lose in the run-off by a large margin to Juan Manuel Santos.
    Well, Antanas Mockus, twice the mayor of Bogota, reportedly won't seek that office for now.
    He has endorsed Enrique Peñalosa, another former mayor.
    But no mention of what else he is doing. Come on Colombia Reports!

FOR BACKGROUND, SEE:
http://thehypervigilantobserver.blogspot.com/2010/06/colombia-mockus-reflects-on.html
AND:
http://thehypervigilantobserver.blogspot.com/2010/04/colombia-profile-presidential-candidate.html

COLOMBIA: Will World Cup Matches Affect Presidential Voting?

REUTERS/     Presidential candidate Juan Manuel Santos' huge lead in the polls may cause some voters to skip the vote and watch World Cup matches instead on 20 June. "The World Cup is very important, but we have many days to watch the matches. I ask my compatriots to sacrifice the games just for a moment and get out to vote," current President Uribe stated.
     Nearly 50% of 30 million eligible voters cast ballots during the May 30 first round presidential poll, but analysts say that figure could drop by 8% to 10% because of Santos's lead and the World Cup.
    Voters must choose between Brasil versus Ivory Coast at 1330 and Italy against New Zealand at 0900 or voting.

COLOMBIA: A Heated Presidential Debate... As Santos Lead Grows.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/   Green Party candidate Antanas Mockus accused some of the politicians aligned with leading candidate Juan Manuel Santos and involved in his campaign of corruption. This after new polling shows that 66.5% of people surveyed would vote for Santos in the 20 June presidential runoff. Mockus received 27.4% of the interviewees' support.

COLOMBIA: Mockus Reflects On Disappointing Election Results; Polling Fooled Him.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/    Antanas Mockus admitted he was fooled by polls showing he could win the presidency in the first round, and that winning the second round will be difficult. Mockus said that polls, which predicted a tie between the Green candidate and the Santos "got our hopes up, but the raw reality of the votes is what counts. It disconcerted us. If there hadn't been voter polls, we wouldn't have created the expectation of winning in the first round, as we did at a certain point, or at least gaining the advantage over [Santos'] Partido de la U in the first round," he said.

COLOMBIA: Twitter Reaction To Election Results.

GLOBAL VOICES ONLINE/    Many who Twittered were surprized by the LOPSIDED results of Sunday's presidential election. Opinion polls had predicted a much closer contest between Juan Manuel Santos and Green Party eccentric Antanas Mockus. Santos got almost 6.8 million votes, 46.56% while Mockus garnered 3.1 million votes, 21.49%. The two will run-off in a 20 June election. There were also strong results for third place Germán Vargas Lleras, 1.47 million votes, 10.13%, followed by Gustavo Petro 1.33 million votes, 9.15%.

COLOMBIA: Pre-Election Roundup.

COLOMBIA REPORT/ With AP Input/       The last TV debate before Sunday's election centered on corruption. Socialist Gustavo Petro criticized Alvaro Uribe and Juan Manuel Santos because Santos campaign posters were visible in airports where public works took place. Petro also alleged that tax payers' money was used to finance the Santos campaign. Santos denied any wrongdoings. Antanas Mockus, currently tied with Santos in recent polls, believes corruption can be countered with a cultural change. Mockus recently said" I think all of the candidates are good," adding that he would "not be scared" if any of them won the election, but that he "would not vote for Doctor Santos."
Also,  President Alvaro Uribe defended his brother against allegations of having led a right-wing death squad from the family ranch during the early 1990s and suggested that accusations by former police Maj. Juan Carlos Meneses were lies paid for by criminals.

COLOMBIA: Juanes Blasts Santos For Stealing Song For Campaign.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/   Via Twitter, popular singer Juanes claims presidential candidate Juan Manuel Santos used his song in a campaign ad without permission, calling it "abuse." The song "La Camisa Negra" is on YouTube with lyrics altered to refer to Santos. In a recent poll, Santos regained a slight lead over Green Party candidate Antanas Mockus.

COLOMBIA: Mockus Says He Will Raise Corporate Taxes.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/      In an interview with Dow Jones, presidential candidate Antanas Mockus pledged to end corporate tax breaks and loopholes. Mockus is virtually tied in recent polls with President Alvaro Uribe's heir, former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos. "We all pay taxes for the common good," said Mockus. "If we want a series of rights written in the constitution to be granted, we need more funds and more honesty. There is no opposition to that level of taxes, on the contrary there is more demand for a better public service," he added.

COLOMBIA: Summary of EFE Interview With Antanas Mockus.

LAHT/     Green Party presidential candidate Antanas Mockus wants to normalize trade ties with Venezuela and use diplomacy to resolve frictions developed under current President Alvaro Uribe. Mockus believes Colombia can only reach economic potential with the support of its neighbors. “We’ll have maybe 10 years of a mining boom, but that’s not enough; we don’t want to be illiterates (who can’t think beyond) coal and oil," he said.

COLOMBIA: Miami Herald Article Slams Mockus.

COLOMBIAREPORTS/     Presidential candidate Antanas Mockus is criticized by a Miami Herald article for using attention-grabbing antics and lacking concrete policies. Cuban-born journalist Carlos Alberto Montaner believes that Mockus suffers from a personality disorder. He compares Mockus to President Hugo Chavez, who he also diagnoses as a histronic, along with Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and former Argentine President Juan Peron. Meanwhile, the English-language press in general has been kind to Mockus. But his popularity has lagged recently. A recent poll has Mockus one point BEHIND Santos.

LINK to Miami Herald article: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/11/1622984/is-this-showoff-fit-to-be-colombias.html

COLOMBIA: The Presidential Campaign Gets Nasty With Smears And Rumors.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/ Full Report/    "The 2010 presidential elections seem to focus as much on discrediting other candidates as on self-promotion. Covert attacks on candidates integrity, and even on the candidates' supporters, are increasingly the name of the game. Increased use of internet campaigning provides both campaigners and opponents with a whole new arena to wrestle in."

COLOMBIA: Another Profile Of Green Party Presidential Candidate Mockus.

GUARDIAN.UK/  Profile and Analysis/    Colombia's Obama-like candidate, Antanas Mockus, is getting more and more media coverage as he extends his surprizing lead in polls for the 30 May presidential contest.

"Say it quietly, but the next president of Colombia might not be a guerrilla-obsessed rightwinger. Just about everyone had expected Alvaro Uribe's successor to be a similar hardliner, such as former defence minister Juan Manuel Santos. Instead, Colombians are on the verge of electing a leader who will transform their parasitic political culture. Latin America's most exciting presidential prospect since Lula da Silva has arrived. The great white hope is Antanas Mockus, candidate of the reinvented Green party. He has persuaded Colombians that they can do more than just insult their old-style politicians: they can vote them out."

COLOMBIA: New Polling Give Mockus The Lead; He Credits Internet; Chavez Rejects Meddling Charge.

BLOOMBERG/   In the latest polls,  Antanas Mockus has surged ahead. Green candidate Mockus' popularity rose to 38% while Juan Manuel Santos' numbers dropped to 29%. "It is something surprising, we thank the people, independent activists on the internet, who have talked with their families and neighbors. It is similiar to a social movement," proclaimed Mockus. Informed of the numbers, Santos reacted: "I always feel as though I come last in the polls, and for that reason I continue working hard, looking towards May 30." Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez also rejected charges by  President Uribe that he is meddling in the country’s political affairs ahead of presidential elections next month. Meanwhile Mockus backtracked somewhat on his recent comments about Chavez that had critics steamed. “I respect President Chavez because he was elected and reelected democratically and anyone elected democratically is respectable,” Mockus, the former mayor of Bogota. “I used the verb ‘admire’ and I’d like to change it to ‘respect.’”

COLOMBIA: Prez Candidate Santos Disses Mockus As Lead Dwindles.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/    In an interview in his family's newspaper El Tiempo, candidate Juan Manuel Santos believes if  Green Party candidate Antanas Mockus wins the presidency, the nation could return to its troubled past. "Mockus is a media phenomenon and the media have helped him enormously. You can see in any media [source] that they only criticize this side [Santos' campaign] and they only have praise for him..." said Santos. The latest polls show 35% of voters support Santos while Mockus' popularity has leaped from 29% to 34% in two weeks. The poll also indicated that in a second round election, Mockus would beat Santos 50% to 44%.

COLOMBIA: Profile: Presidential Candidate Antanas Mockus.

BLOOMBERG/   Antanas Mockus is the Green Party's unorthodox presidential candidate to succeeed Alvaro Uribe. He is a mathematician known to moon his students and wear a superhero’s spandex outfit to teach civic values. The former Mayor of Bogota is dismissed as a clown by opponents but now polls in second place for the 30 May elections. Viewers of a recent TV debate declared him the winner from among the 6 candidates. Mockus “shines as a fresh, clean, anti-politician,” says political scientist Felipe Botero. “He’s a question mark, but people like him.”

COLOMBIA: Live TV Presidential Debate Favored Mockus Says Viewers.

COLOMBIA REPORT/     The six leading candidates for the May 30  presidential election debated live Sunday on TV channel Caracol. They answered questions from journalists, audience members and by one another. Antanas Mockus was voted the debate's winner by readers of El Espectador.

COLOMBIA: Profile Of Leading Presidential Candidate Juan Manuel Santos.

GLOBAL POST/ A Profile by John Otis/    Juan Manuel Santos, 58, President Alvaro Uribe’s defense minister for three years, is currently the leading candidate to succeed him in May's election. Santos comes from a family of journalists and politicians. But he is best known for directing operations that led to the capture or deaths of several top FARC leaders and the rescue of 15 hostages, including three U.S. military contractors. However, his lead over Green Party candidate Antanas Mockus has narrowed to only 5% in recent polling.

COLOMBIA: Uribe Questions Mockus' Anti- FARC Stance.

COLOMBIAREPORTS/    Outgoing President Alvaro Uribe has insinuated that Green Party candidate Antanas Mockus lacks the will to continue the fight against the FARC terrorists. "I can't refer to candidates in particular, but I remember that 7th of August in 2002, when the government in power [Uribe's] was almost murdered in Bogota... It's very serious when some people in the country, who allowed the guerrilla and the paramilitarism to grow and didn't fight them, today present themselves as honest, as enemies of politicking, in order to aspire to the presidency" said Uribe. Uribe believes the attack gainst him resulted from Bogota's weak security. Mockus was Bogota's mayor at that time. Mockus has responded "yes, I am capable of fighting the FARC."

COLOMBIA: Presidential Candidate Reveals Parkinson's Diagnosis.

LAHT/    Antanas Mockus, the Green Party candidate currently polling second for the nation's May 30th presidential election, announced he is suffering from the onset of Parkinson’s disease. Mockus says his neurologist assured him that he will have “good health” for the next 12 years and the ability to manage “perfectly well in everything to do with the intellect.”