Andean Conflict Reaps Domestic Political Rewards for Uribe, Correa, Chávez

Andean Conflict Reaps Domestic Political Rewards for Uribe, Correa, Chávez

When Colombia bombed a guerrilla camp in Ecuador last month, igniting one of Latin America's worst diplomatic spats in recent history and nearly sparking a regional war, the leaders at the center of the dispute each emerged with a most unexpected political reward: a boost in their domestic support.

Recent opinion polls in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela illustrate that the nationalist stands taken by leaders of the three countries paid off for each of them politically.

"All three leaders occupied different roles and all of them are satisfied," said Juan Gabriel Valdés, former minister of foreign relations in Chile. Colombian President Álvaro Uribe "was proud to kill a guerilla leader," said Valdés, while Ecuadoran leader Rafael Correa "feels like a hero by defending his country's sovereignty," and Venezuela President Hugo Chávez "was pleased to be invited to resolve an international conflict."

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review