Juan Manuel Santos Approves Juan José "J.J." Rendón

The most likely heir to the presidential office of Uribe,success.
Juan Manuel Santos, has chosen a powerful ally in hisIn an interview with María Isabel Rueda, J.J. was
bid for office. That ally comes in the form of J.J.quoted as saying, "If it's within the law, then I don't have
Rendón, better known as "J.J." Having never beforeany misgivings."
run for public office, this could very well be the wisestAdditionally, this will be an interesting time for many as
choice possible. Santos, having served as Minister ofthey as they pay close attention at the first
Defense, may have just decided that his best defenseInternet-oriented campaign in Latin America. It will be a
might be a good offense. This is exactly what he'swhole new venue for those in Latin America and
getting with J.J. as his political advisor. J.J. is well knownSantos is the one heading it up. This added complexity
in political circles as a master strategist who never letspresents a whole new dimension to the Columbian
up in his tenacity for achieving political victory for thepolitical arena. In this case, the entire world is watching
candidates he supports.and J.J. Rendón will be right there alongside Santos, in
J.J. Rendón has been involved in the successfulthe spotlight. With this type of scrutiny, most are
presidential campaign of Porfirio Lobo, in Honduras, asconvinced that we will get to see the best side of J.J.'s
well as having worked successfully in Mexico, recently.psychological political warfare.
It was J.J.'s amazing political skills that assisted Uribe'sThe general public is always a bit suspicious when it
party in 2006. In all, according to J.J.'s count, he hascomes to political campaigning. However, with this new
been successful in 20 out of 22 campaigns that helevel of transparency, people are less sceptical than in
has participated in.the past. Those who are in Santos' corner are most
This impressive figure has obviously earned J.J.likely quite pleased that he has managed to enlist J.J.
Rendón the admiration of many and the ire of quite aon his side – instead of the opposition being able to
few, as well. He has been accused of launching smeardo the same. Even without previous experience in
campaigns against his opponents - in particular, againstrunning for public office, J.J. has enough experience to
Rafael Pardo Rueda and Carlos Gaviria (both formermore than make up for that.
presidential candidates). This is an allegation that heWith the awesome political power of the Internet
vehemently denies. Candidate Santos has stated that(successfully used by President Obama during his
no such tactics will be a part of his bid for thecampaign) and the political savvy of J.J. Rendón, Juan
presidency. It should be noted that any allegationsManuel Santos may just have the perfect winning
against J.J. has been directly related to his record forcombination.