Abstract

LEAL BUITRAGO, Francisco. THE POLITICAL OF DEMOCRATIC SAFETY 2002-2005. anal.polit. [online]. 2006, vol.19, n.57, pp.3-30. ISSN 0121-4705.

This article shows the evolution of security -related policies formulated during Alvaro Uribe's presidency (2002-2006) through the end of 2005. The policy of democratic security was implemented along three lines. First, the continuation of the military offensive against the FARC which was started by the previous government. This offensive has been possible thanks to U.S. aid and was revamped with the more sophisticated Plan Patriota, operating mainly in the southern part of the country where the strategic rearguard of the FARC is located. Second, a "policy of peace" with the paramilitary, which has been complex due to the difficulties of promoting a law that permits minor punishments for the authors of war crimes and international humanitarian law violations. And third, a series of specific measures -such as peasant soldiers, desertion incentives, and informant networks- destined to strengthen the other two. These policies have had ambivalent results, just as the entire security policy more generally. The chapter ends with the uncertainty generated by the informal beginnings of the electoral process at the end of 2005, which incorporate security concerns and conditions security policies in the future.

Keywords : security; democracy; Colombia; government.

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