transcript

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MARCO WERMAN: Just as Israel has been Washington's closest ally in the Middle East, so Colombia has been America's closest Ally in South America. The country receives more than a billion dollars a year from Uncle Sam. That money has helped President Alvaro Uribe push back against the left-wing guerillas of Farc and against drug traffickers. His administration has also rescued several hostages including three Americans last year. But now Uribe wants to change Colombia's Constitution so he can run for a third term, and that's fueled concern that he's turning into an autocrat. We get the story from John Otis in Pereira.

JOHN OTIS: During a town hall meeting at a high school gym, Alvaro Uribe acts more like an alderman than a president. He fields requests to pave roads and supply new ambulances for this city in the heart of Colombia's coffee-growing region. He even gets into the nitty-gritty over where to build a small mill to extract the juice from sugar cane.

ALVARO URIBE: [Speaking in Spanish.]

OTIS: Uribe has held 234 town hall meetings since he first took office in 2002. Broadcast on State T.V., the marathon sessions help burnish Uribe's image as a hands-on leader.

URIBE: [Speaking in Spanish.]

OTIS: But it's more than Uribe's human touch that makes him popular. His hard-line policies have led to a huge drop in kidnappings and guerilla violence. His U.S.-funded army has delivered a series of military blows to the Farc and other rebel bands. Improved security has helped spark an economic boom as well as demands that Uribe stay on the job. Like other Latin American nations once ruled by dictators, Colombia tried to limit presidential power by banning reelection. Uribe ran for a second term in 2006 only after lawmakers amended the Constitution. Now, pro-government legislators want to change the rules to allow Uribe to stand yet again in the 2010 election. Opinion polls show that Uribe would win hands down.

URIBE: [Speaking in Spanish.]

OTIS: In Pereira, hundreds of adoring citizens turned out to cheer Uribe and petition him for favors. But all the talk of reelection has some comparing Uribe to another popular leader. In neighboring Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez, elected a decade ago, has vowed to rule for 22 years. Uribe has also been weakened by government corruption. His intelligence agency stands accused of spying on political opponents. Dozens of pro-Uribe legislators have been imprisoned for collaborating with death squads, a scandal serious enough to help derail a special trade deal with the United States. Even the president's sons have come under fire for allegedly using their famous last name to close lucrative land deals. Daniel Coronell is a Colombian television journalist and one of Uribe's most vocal critics. He charges that Columbia still faces enormous problems.

DANIEL CORONELL: In human rights, corruption, a lot of problems of balance of powers, balances and checks. So, it's completely dangerous for the Colombian democracy.

URIBE: [Speaking in Spanish.]

OTIS: But like many Colombians who turned out to see the president at his town hall meeting, Francisco Castro fears that without a rebate guerillas will return to terrorize the countryside. Castro, a doctor, is a victim of rebel violence. While visiting his farm 18 years ago, the guerillas tried to kidnap him. He resisted and was shot in the back. Castro is now confined to a wheelchair.

FRANCISCO CASTRO: [Speaking in Spanish.]

OTIS: He points out that what happened to him happened to many Colombians. He goes on to say that Uribe took on the Narcos and the Bandits allowing Colombians to take back their land. Castro says he will gladly vote for Uribe again. He and millions of fellow Colombians may get their chance. The country's Senate is expected to approve a preliminary bill calling for a voter referendum on whether to change the Constitution. This would allow Uribe's name to appear on next year's ballot. For The World, I'm John Otis in Pereira, Colombia

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