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GOVERNMENT Colombia’s government has undergone several changes since the mid-20th century. One of the most significant was the adoption of a new constitution in 1991. The new constitution replaced the 1886 constitution and provided for a more decentralized, pluralistic, and democratic government.
National executive power in Colombia is vested in a president who is elected by direct popular vote to a single four-year term. Suffrage (the right to vote) is universal for all citizens 18 years of age or older. The president appoints a cabinet, subject to congressional approval. Under the 1991 constitution, the departmental governors are directly elected.
Legislative power in Colombia is vested in a bicameral congress composed of a House of Representatives (161 members) and a Senate (102 members). Members are elected to four-year terms. The 1991 constitution imposes penalties for absenteeism and bars members of Congress from simultaneously holding any other public office.
Colombia has four high courts: the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, the State Council, and the Superior Council of the Judiciary. Supreme Court justices are elected for life, half by the Senate and half by the House of Representatives. The Supreme Court is the highest court on all matters of criminal law. The Constitutional Court, whose justices are elected by the Senate to eight-year terms, rules on the constitutionality of legislation and also hears all cases concerning the constitution. The State Council is the highest court for cases concerning the administration of the government. The judicial system also includes superior and lower district courts and provincial and municipal judges. Although the 1991 constitution banned extradition on the basis that Colombians committing crimes in Colombia had to face Colombian justice, the government repealed this section of the constitution in 1997 under heavy pressure from the United States. The 1991 constitution also established an independent system of prosecution, ensuring that neither the executive nor legislative branches can intervene in judicial proceedings. Capital punishment is outlawed.
Colombia has a relatively free and open political system in which a number of parties participate; there are two principal political parties, however. The Partido Conservador Colombiano (PCC, Conservative Party) traditionally favored strong central government and close relations with the Roman Catholic Church, while the Partido Liberal Colombiano (PL, Liberal Party) favored stronger local governments and separation of church and state. Between 1958 and 1974 the Liberals and Conservatives were the only legal political parties in Colombia, owing to a 1957 constitutional amendment intended to defuse the explosive antagonisms between them. Under this arrangement, called the National Front, each party held exactly half the number of seats in each legislative house and in the cabinet and other agencies, and the presidency alternated between leaders of the parties. Although the parity system established by the National Front was terminated in 1978, the 1886 Colombian constitution then in effect required that the losing political party be given adequate and equitable participation in the government. Although the 1991 constitution does not have this requirement, subsequent administrations have included opposition parties in the government. Besides the two principal parties that have dominated Colombian politics since the 19th century, new ones have become active since 1985, including the Marxist Unión Patriótica (UP, Patriotic Union) and the Movimiento 19 de Abril (M-19, 19th of April Movement), a group originally formed to contest the results of the 1970 presidential election held on April 19.
Although public health standards were improving by the early 21st century, physicians were still in short supply. Most of the country’s physicians work in the larger cities. In 1996 Colombia had one hospital bed for every 687 people. Malaria and yellow fever remain endemic in some parts of the country. A social insurance system provides maternity and dental benefits, accident insurance, workers’ compensation and disability, and retirement and survivors’ insurance to most of the industrial labor force. Contributions from employers, workers, and the government finance the system.
Male citizens 18 and older must complete one to two years of military service. Some 200,000 people served in the Colombian armed forces in 2002. |
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