Well for starters if you can have the city shut down, there is no traffic. Getting from point A to point B is so much easier without buses weaving about, people crossing in the middle of the street, or the occasional burro pulling a cart. Yes, it is a bad stereotype, but it is true you see zorras-donkeys pulling the informal recycling sector around town. We are still a nation in development.
Bush started his trip with a formal receiving line. The military, politicians and diplomatic staff all dressed in their Sunday best showed up. Bush showed his manners when he did not salute, place his hand on his heart, or acknowledge that the Colombian anthem was playing. Never mind that Uribe had done that when the American anthem was playing. Uribe and his wife both raised their hands to their hearts as “Oh, say! can you see by the dawn's early light” was played by the military band.
After those the formalities were taken care of, they had a nice lunch. Where the television cameras caught, one of Uribe’s sons with a forbidden cell phone in hand. He was also photographed getting smacked by his father for putting his hands in his pockets during the welcoming ceremony.
In the meantime the opposition party had asked people to come out for a peaceful protest at the Plaza de Toros. The plan was a couple of speeches for the cameras and no more. Downtown was closed so any actual march would be impossible. The usual rag tag group of liberals showed up. Tie dye hippies, anti-globalization kids, Chavistas (Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez supporters), a big chunk of them sporting some variation of Che on their t-shirts. Speeches were made, as the riot police proceeded to surround the protesters. Quickly the protesters began to, in good old leftist fashion, start fighting with the police. Rocks started to fall upon the police, who kept pushing the small crowd with their shields. Two hours later a chunk of the downtown not cordoned off by the Colombian military and American security, is destroyed. The best image that summoned up the craziness of the situation is a brick set in to a shattered ATM screen.
The rumor around town is that the “protestors” who started the rock throwing were infiltrated secret police. Thereby giving them a reason to arrest the protestors with the pretext that they were destroying public property, endangering the public safety, and congregating illegally. Once the violence started the cops had a hard time getting it to stop. Which is why that part of town looked like a war broke out. There were 120 arrests of mainly of teenage boys.
On the plus side George and Laura got to take home some lovely souvenirs. They had a great photo op with Juan Valdez, Colombia’s fictional coffee spokesman, and crafts representatives. Bush got the same distinct white hat that Uribe sports, an Aguadeño. During this photo-op was all joshing and manly bonding. The truth behind it all is that Uribe’s sons have set up a business “promote” Colombian handicrafts. And the photo-op was a nice commercial for this business.
I am a longtime fan of Colombian crafts. They are excellent. The people who do this work need and deserve all the promotion they can get. Beautiful things are made in Colombia, by generation after generation of crafts masters. From clothing, to furniture, the way people work with natural materials is amazing. But there is a big difference between promoting this work and taking advantage of the fact your father is president. Up until recently the address and phone number for their private company was the presidential palace (the equivalent to the Whitehouse). It is a nice way to make sure people buy your product. I am not saying that they have political influence. But not to many producers of Sombreros Voltiao, can claim so many prestigious customers. This situation can lend it self as an easy way of hiding any political favors.
So what did Colombia gain from Bush’s visit? Nothing. It did not help the political and social problems of Colombia. It just helped highlight them.
