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Horacio Serpa Uribe died this Saturday in Bucaramanga without fulfilling his two greatest dreams: to be president of the republic and to see that peace reign in the country. Born in the capital of Santander on January 4, 1943, he dedicated his best efforts to the purpose of reaching the House of Nariño and to banish violence forever.
(In context: Former presidential candidate Horacio Serpa died at 77)
It is a paradox, remember today his friends who regret his departure, but, without a doubt, the time he was closest to winning the elections, in 1998, he did not achieve it because of the FARC guerrillas. Fed up with the armed conflict, many Colombians were looking for the candidate with the best roadmap to offer them to solve this problem.
The conservative Andrés Pastrana Arango surprised with a photograph, in the final stretch of the campaign, together with the leader of this armed group ‘Manuel Marulanda Vélez’ –’Tirofijo’–. The electorate, then, opted for Pastrana despite the fact that Serpa had won in the first round and the polls were favorable to him.
Analysts consider that this surprising image changed the 1998 elections to the detriment of Horacio Serpa until then.
Then, when he appeared again, in 2002, he had Álvaro Uribe Vélez as a rival, who not only defeated him in the first round, but also became a political force that still has enormous validity. In fact, Serpa appeared again in 2006, but at the time Uribe was not only unbeatable but the leader of the Liberal Party was experiencing enormous wear and tear.
(Can read: ‘A cycle to which I never intuited an end ends’: Uribe on Serpa)
Signature of the 1991 Constitution. Below (from left to right), Álvaro Gómez, Antonio Navarro and Horacio Serpa. Above, President César Gaviria and his wife, Ana Milena Muñoz.
For analysts, Serpa, owner of a singular oratory and a great capacity to communicate with popular sectors, began to tarnish his image when former president Ernesto Samper Pizano became the top squire, involved in the scandal of the 8,000 process, this It is the income of the money from the Cali cartel to the presidential campaign.
From the Ministry of the Interior of which he was head, Serpa devoted his best efforts to defend Samper. His career thus suffered a definitive breaking point.
A few years ago he had shone as co-president of the National Constituent Assembly with Álvaro Gómez Hurtado, of the National Salvation Movement, and Antonio Navarro Wolff, who had laid down the arms of the M-19.
In fact, the 8,000 process fractured the relationship between Serpa and Gómez to the point that when the conservative leader was assassinated the family pointed him out as one of those responsible, a fact that now has another version due to the recent confession of the Farc of his authorship. .
Possessor of good humor, intelligent and great connoisseur of the concerns of Colombians, Serpa was a politician of a generation that, as former President Uribe said yesterday, “concludes a cycle that I never sensed the end of.”
(Can read: President Duque mourns the death of Horacio Serpa Uribe)
That explains why his goodbye has been lamented by different protagonists of public life. From President Iván Duque, who had known him for more than 20 years and worked with him in the Congress of the Republic, and said: “I have received the news of his death with great pain. I visited him a few months ago at his home and we had a great conversation ”. The president added that “the homeland lost one of its great political gentlemen” who showed, in all its facets, “love for this country.”
Horacio Serpa with Álvaro Uribe and Juan Manuel Santos.
For his part, former President Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018) also expressed solidarity with his family. “We are very sorry for Horacio Serpa’s departure. An exemplary Colombian, a great liberal and always a noble gentleman. Our sincere condolences to his dear family ”, he assured.
Likewise, ex-president Álvaro Uribe Vélez (2002-2010) expressed his condolences to the politician’s family. “With the death of Dr. Horacio Serpa Uribe, a cycle that I never sensed would end. I was united with him by a long-standing friendship, coincidences and sharp differences. I expressed my respect and affection for him, which I reiterated in the final term that we shared in the Senate, ”he wrote on his social networks.
Former president Ernesto Samper (1994-1998) deeply regretted his departure and highlighted his qualities and the friendship they maintained.
(Can read: ‘A friend is leaving, a fighter of many battles’: Samper)
“I receive with deep pain the news of the death of Horacio Serpa Uribe (…), a friend is leaving, a fighter of many battles,” he said, and stressed that it was a symbol of loyalty, coherence and humanity. “He was always loyal to his family, his country, his party, his region and his friends. Consistent in defending his ideas, such as peace, equality and sovereignty. Humanitarian with the poor, the victims and the persecuted ”, he added.
Horacio Serpa Uribe was characterized by his closeness to people.
The relationship between Ernesto Samper and Horacio Serpa was one of the most critical issues in his political career, as Serpa defended Samper during the 8,000 process. In an interview with BOCAS magazine in 2013, Serpa pointed out that he did not regret it because he did it conscientiously.
“I assumed the defense of his government, and of him, because I was always convinced that it had not been related to the irregular financing of the campaign. I still think that. I have had a friendship with Ernesto Samper since 1982, ”Serpa declared.
(Read the interview: Horacio Serpa, the last of the liberal caudillos. Bocas interview in 2013)
At that time, he said that Samper gave him the option to seek the presidency. “Although I had already made a long journey in politics, he gave me the possibility of being in his government as Minister of the Interior and from there I became a presidential candidate,” he said.
For his part, the former presidential candidate Humberto de la Calle pointed out that “Horacio Serpa searched tirelessly for peace in Colombia. Eternal rest”.
His start in politics
Serpa studied Law and Political Science at the Universidad del Atlántico, in Barranquilla, but he himself assured that he was first a typographer and egg seller.
He entered the judicial branch in his native Santander department, where he worked in different courts.
In 1972 he married Rosita Moncada. “It was the most important moment of my life,” Serpa said in 2014. As a result of that relationship, his three children were born: Sandra, Rosita and Horacio José, current senator, who regretted the fact. “With my family we will always carry him in our hearts and we will remember his teachings,” he said this Saturday.
During this time, Serpa began to show his political interests and participated as a member of the youths of the Liberal Revolutionary Movement, founded by the future president Alfonso López Michelsen.
(Can read: ‘My mom died when we were doing the trip of our dreams’)
In 1971, Serpa launched himself into electoral politics and came to the Barrancabermeja Council for the Liberal Party. After that, he came to Congress, where he forged much of his political career.
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