At 74, Álvaro Uribe jokes that he is 148 years old—74 during the day and 74 at night. After five decades in public life and two terms as president of Colombia, he says he continues working for his country because he considers himself a survivor.
“I am a survivor by miracle and, because I am one, I feel obliged to continue this work for Colombia for as long as my health allows,” Uribe said in an interview with El Diario del Poder, conducted by Víctor Hugo Gandarilla de Andrés and Alejandro Sánchez Martínez.
Born in Medellín in 1952, Uribe served as the city’s mayor, senator and governor of Antioquia before reaching the presidency in 2002. He was reelected in 2006 and remained in office until 2010.
He recalls growing up in the Antioquia countryside during a period marked by political violence. According to Uribe, attacks alternated between supporters of opposing parties. He later witnessed the expansion of guerrilla groups, paramilitarism and the influence of drug trafficking.
Discussing his time in government, Uribe presents security and investment as the foundation for rebuilding public confidence. He says that, when he took office, many young Colombians wanted to leave the country and four million Colombians were living abroad. His goal, he explains, was to replace a cycle of violence, poverty and limited investment with what he described as a virtuous cycle: more security, more investment and less poverty.
Uribe acknowledges that Colombia did not become a paradise during his administrations. He also stresses that his approach to security should not be confused with the model used by Latin American dictatorships. In his view, those regimes used security to silence dissent, while democratic security must protect all citizens, preserve freedoms and fully respect the Constitution.
The former president says part of the material legacy of his governments has since been lost, but he defends what he considers a lasting political inheritance. This includes placing security within discussions about peace, connecting private enterprise with social policy, and strengthening areas such as education and healthcare.
Uribe also reflects on his faith, the killing of his father and the frustrations accumulated throughout his public career. His advice to young people is deliberately practical: focus on doing the day-to-day work well, which he sees as the best preparation for what comes next.
Sources: La Vanguardia.