Ultimate Guide to Colombian Politics
Welcome to the ultimate guide to Colombian politics. This page is a constant work in progress with more content to be added regularly.
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The Constitution
The current constitution of Colombia is the Constitution of 1991 (Constitución Política de Colombia 1991). It is Colombia’s eighth constitution—it was preceded by the constitutions of 1821 (Gran Colombia, ‘Constitution of Cúcuta’), 1832 (New Granada), 1843 (New Granada), 1853 (New Granada), 1858 (Granadine Confederation), 1863 (United States of Colombia, ‘Constitution of Rionegro’) and 1886 (Republic of Colombia).
The 1991 Constitution was adopted by a constituent assembly and is the first Colombian constitution which was not purely the product of the political elites.
The Constitution defines the country as an Estado social de derecho, a legal concept whose English translations all seem clunky (‘social State under the rule of law’). Similar to the definition of Germany as a “democratic and social federal State” and Spain as a “social and democratic State, subject to the rule of law”, the concept draws from the European ideas of the ‘social State’ and the German concept of Rechtsstaat.
The 1991 Constitution brought several fundamental changes to the conception of the Colombian State — including, but not limited to, the recognition of Colombia’s ethnic and cultural diversity, decentralization (defined as “decentralized unitary republic”), popular sovereignty, separation of Church and State, broad protections of fundamental rights, new social and economic rights, mechanisms for the protection of these rights and semi-direct democracy (on paper).
The executive branch and the President
Colombia is a presidential republic. The President of the Republic (Presidente de la República) is the head of state, head of government, supreme administrative authority and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The President is directly elected for a single, non-renewable four-year term in a two round election, with an absolute majority required to win in the first round. The President must be a native-born citizen over the age of 30.
The Vice President (Vicepresidente de la República) is elected simultaneously on a ticket with the winning presidential candidate, and the Vice President’s only constitutional duty is to replace the president in cases of temporary or permanent vacancies, although the President may appoint the Vice President to any office in the executive branch or entrust him/her with special assignments and responsibilities. A sitting Vice President who wishes to run for President must resign from office at least one year before the election.
A constant issue in Latin American politics, term limits have been a hot topic in Colombia as well. The 1991 constitution originally limited presidents to a single, non-renewable term, thereby banning both consecutive and non-consecutive reelection. In 2004, the constitution was amended to allow a single reelection, setting a two-term limit. In 2010, a controversial attempt to hold a citizen-initiated referendum to allow a second reelection was ruled unconstitutional. In 2015, a constitutional reform abolished reelection, returning to the original text of the 1991 constitution. Furthermore, any future modifications of term limits would now require either a constituent assembly or a referendum.
According to the formal letter of the constitution, the executive’s key powers include foreign relations, national defence, public order, the management of public administration, the oversight of public services, fiscal and economic policy.
The President appoints and dismisses cabinet ministers, diplomats, directors of administrative departments and other heads of public institutions. In addition to these direct appointments, the President nominates three candidates for Attorney General, one of the three candidates for Inspector General and three of the nine magistrates of the Constitutional Court. The President also appoints five of the seven members of the board of directors of the Bank of the Republic (central bank), in addition to the finance minister and a general director elected by the other members.
Through the government, the executive branch has significant influence over lawmaking — ministers can directly introduce pieces of legislation, and in practice it often intervenes throughout the legislative process to ensure approval of the government’s agenda. The President may request the urgent discussion (trámite de urgencia) of any bill, in which case the respective house of Congress must make a decision within 30 days. The government also has the power to convene extraordinary sessions of Congress, often to ensure that an important piece of legislation is passed.
Within six months of taking office, the incoming administrations must present to Congress a national development plan (PND) and investment plan — essentially the government’s policy agenda and objectives for the medium and long-term. The PND and investment plan are adopted by Congress, although the government may adopt the investment plan by decree if it is not adopted by Congress within three months.
Any piece of legislation passed by Congress must be sanctioned (approved) by the President who has between six and twenty days (depending on its length) to object to it, either partially or in its entirety. If objected to, a bill is automatically returned to Congress, which can override the presidential objection with the support of an absolute majority of members in both houses, except if the bill is objected to on grounds of unconstitutionality, in which case the bill — if both houses insist — is sent to the Constitutional Court, which rules on the matter within six days.
The 1991 constitution introduced, at least formally, limits on executive prerogatives, most notably over the President’s power to declare states of exception. The power to declare states of exception (for war, internal disturbances or socioeconomic and environmental emergencies) and rule by decree is limited in time and scope, and subject to judicial review.