The centerpiece of the 15-point referendum was a proposal to impose a two-year wage and pension freeze on government employees. Uribe campaigned for a yes vote on the measure to fulfill commitments to the International Monetary Fund in return for $2.1 billion IMF loan his government received earlier this year. He claimed that passage of his “reforms” would ward off a financial collapse like the one in Argentina two years ago.

Uribe was elected in May 2002 with a large majority, and according to recent opinion polls his approval rating is 75 percent. Nevertheless Uribe was unable to convince one-quarter of registered voters to participate in the referendum. A 25 percent turnout was required, along with a majority of those casting ballots, for the referendum to pass. Initial election results indicate that barely two or three of the 15 proposals in the referendum may pass.

Uribe also linked the referendum to his regime’s war against anti-government guerrilla groups, the largest of which is the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). He called for “a vote against terrorism,” stating he would use funds from the wage and pension freeze to up military spending.

In a high-profile visit to Colombia and Honduras in August, U.S. defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld praised Uribe for doing an “excellent job” in his fight against “narcoterrorism,” and announced that Washington was considering offering Bogotá more weapons and training as part of Plan Colombia. Launched in 2000 by the Clinton administration, Plan Colombia has provided $2.5 billion in military aid, making Bogotá the third-largest recipient of U.S. military funding after Tel Aviv and Cairo.

In step with Washington’s campaign against Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, Colombian military officials have charged that the government in Caracas is allowing guerilla groups to use Venezuelan territory as a refuge and supply route, increasing the potential for armed border conflicts between Colombian and Venezuelan forces.

Garzón won 47 percent of vote in the October 26 Bogotá mayoral race, defeating the Uribe-backed candidate by 7 percent. His electoral bloc, Independent Democratic Pole, promised to provide jobs and criticized Uribe’s “security” policies. Over the past year the government has conducted mass arrests of union leaders and human rights activists, accusing them of having ties to the guerrillas.

Having lost in the referendum, Uribe announced tax increases, spending cuts, and other measures October 29 to meet IMF demands. Carlos Rodríguez, head of the United Workers Federation (CUT), responded, “We reject the government’s Plan B as an attempt to use legislative means to put into effect the referendum, which the people have rejected.”  
 
 
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