Reg and Isa you have any thoughts on Columbia current politics.
Yes of course we do.
The fight is between leftist Ivan Cepeda and Abelardo de la Espriella. Cepeda represents continuity with the current leftist Petro government, and de la Espriella represents law and order, mega-prisons, and no negotiations with armed groups.
Petro’s left wing policies, trying to negotiate with the drug cartels, have been a total failure.
While I usually favour left over right, in this case I support killing or imprisoning everyone in the drug business in Colombia, with or without trials. I believe radical steps are needed for Colombia to emerge from the drug cartel culture that still dominates large parts of its society. Erika agrees. We’re both hoping for de la Espriella.
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supporting the colombian trump will surely make things better… (if you believe usa is better off under trumps actions lol)
I do not believe USA is better under Trump, Nico, and I concede that you are raising a very valid point. I do think that:
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Petro’s leftist policies of negotiating with the cartels have totally failed. The cartels have run amok, and Petro is deeply hated across the country.
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Bukele in El Salvador has been a huge success. He threw 75,000 gang members in jail without trials, and El Salvador is safe and beautiful now. I walked the walk on this and went there last year to see for myself. EVERYONE I talked to (and I talked to dozens) said, “whatever the price of this newfound peace and prosperity, it’s worth it”.
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Trump is a moron, and a failed one. It is possible de la Espriella will fail, and that Colombia will be worse. I concede this. We KNOW that Petro’s conciliatory policies failed. I say let’s try it. And yes, I might be wrong.
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nazi germany had some nice clean roads too and was very safe for specific people as well, somehow i dont call that a success and wouldnt want anyone to try that again either
De la Espriella won. Let the mass murder of drug dealers and gang members begin.
congrats and rip democracy in colombia
RIP human rights, perhaps. Democracy is what just elected de la Espriella.
to me equality and human rights are necessary for a democracy
oh, luckily its not just me, my (trained) ai agrees:
For a system to be considered a functioning democracy, it generally requires several essential components: [1]
- Free and Fair Elections: Citizens have the right to choose their leaders regularly through an uncorrupted voting process.
- Citizen Participation: Citizens must be actively involved in public life, debate, and the political process.
- Rule of Law: All citizens, including the leaders and government officials, are equal under the law. No one is above the law.
- Protection of Human Rights: Basic freedoms—such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press—are upheld.
- Majority Rule and Minority Rights: Decisions are made by majority vote, but the rights and safety of dissenting or minority groups are strictly protected. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
No one in Columbia is blaming Jews for their problems or advocating invading other countries both things Hitler and his cronies went on and on about.
Your AI is confusing democracy with liberal democracy.
A liberal democracy requires strong human-rights protections, rule of law, minority rights, and independent institutions. A democracy, in the narrower sense, requires meaningful elections and enough civil freedom for voters to make a real choice. El Salvador is not a perfect democracy, and Bukele has clearly weakened liberal-democratic norms, but calling it simply “not a democracy” is too easy.
That said, I submit that human rights for ordinary Salvadorans are far better under Bukele than they were before him. Yes, mass imprisonment without normal due process is a serious human-rights violation. But before Bukele, millions of people lived under gang terror. Thousands were killed. Families paid extortion. Whole neighbourhoods were controlled by criminals. Millions designed their lives around the whims of gangs.
The right to life, personal security, movement, work, family life, and ordinary civic peace are human rights too. I am not limiting human rights to procedural rights against the state. I am also talking about the right of ordinary people to live without gang terror.
So no, this is not “human rights versus no human rights.” It is a brutal tradeoff between competing human-rights failures: a society where millions had their rights crushed by gangs, versus a state that has restored public security while crushing the due-process rights of detainees.
You can condemn that tradeoff. You can argue it goes too far. But pretending the pre-Bukele order was morally superior because it looked more procedurally normal is fantasy.
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i think when you are willing to vote in a government that will promise to make things better by taking undemocratic actions… you have become like a maga follower that is unable to see reality: you will only see clean roads while your government will exploit and kill its citizens
This is because you are simple, Nico. I won’t pretend I don’t mean that offensively, but I believe it to be objectively true. You have no grey areas. Free speech must be absolute. Suicide is always cowardice. Violence is always wrong.
I am not simple, Nico. I understand that there are brutal tradeoffs we must make in life. Sometimes lives must be sacrificed to save other lives. Sometimes some rights must be violated to preserve other rights. I don’t hide from this, Nico, or pretend it need not be so.
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indeed i definitely do not believe lives should ever be sacrificed to save other lives or that rights should be violated to preserve other rights…
to me that is choosing the simple “solution” (in quotes because in reality its nonsense and not a solution); there are always better ways 