There are many explanations for Álvaro Uribe‘s recent electoral success in Colombia, but the most relevant, José Luis Gómez explains, is that Colombia reelected Uribe because of a common concern for security. Gómez Garavito explains how the vote for Uribe was neither a vote of punishment, nor desperation, but rather a vote of trust for a popular president. Despite all of his critics, Uribe has managed to avoid the empty rhetoric of Populism in order to broaden, and yet concentrate his power in Colombian politics.

José Luis Gómez Garavito is a lawyer currently completing his doctorate in Public Law at the University of Paris X Nanterre. He was a professor of History of Political Thought at Rosario de Bogotá University, and is currently an investigator at the Center for the Study of International Law at Paris X.

IN THE END, WE ALL INTERPRET HISTORY A LITTLE DIFERENTLY. Hundreds of reactions can spring from one political event.

So, what can be said about Álvaro Uribe’s reelection, with 62 percent of the vote, for another four years of presidency in Colombia?

Some less thrilled with the results, might claim that Barrab