Colombia Dry and Mighty

In a nation known for its fiery orators, Virgilio Barco Vargas is a notable exception. While campaigning for President, Barco plodded through speeches with all the verve of an engineer explaining a blueprint. Supporters of the 64-year-old liberal were reduced to saying, "Virgilio may be a bad candidate, but he'll make a great President." Colombians evidently agreed. When the May 25 ballots were tallied last week, Barco was elected by the largest landslide in the country's history. The M.I.T.-trained engineer, who monitored the results on his computer terminal, won 58% of the vote, vs. 36% for Conservative Alvaro Gomez Hurtado. Said Political Scientist German Rodriguez: "The people want a manager and statesman, not an orator."

The vote was partly a slap at outgoing President Belisario Betancur Cuartas, 63, who under Colombian law could not seek re-election. Since Betancur took office in 1982, Colombia has continued to dominate a worldwide cocaine trade that has ballooned from $5 billion four years ago to $8 billion today. Betancur also had limited success in halting terrorist conflicts, which have claimed more than 2,000 lives since 1983. Around 100 hostages died last November when the army stormed the Bogota Palace of Justice after it was seized by guerrillas. Among the dead: eleven Justices of Colombia's 24-member Supreme Court.

Barco, a 40-year public servant whose posts have ranged from mayor of Bogota to Ambassador to Washington, must now confront the Betancur legacy. High on the new President's agenda: the continuing terrorist attacks, growing pressure from the U.S. to clamp down on illicit drug traffic, and a 13.4% unemployment rate. Barco will have to move quickly to contain the proliferating drug business. He has already pledged support for programs to eradicate the coca plant, which provides the raw material for cocaine, and he has indicated to Washington that he will cooperate with efforts to extradite Colombians accused of drug trafficking.

Indeed, good overall relations with Washington seem ensured by Barco's U.S. ties, which include a Pennsylvania-born wife and the fact that three of his four children attended college in Massachusetts. "The reason Barco has trouble speaking in public," one campaign quip went, "is that he thinks in English." For now, Barco is thinking cautiously. "I received a great backing in the elections," he says, "but at the same time, a great responsibility." The ca awkward orator knows full well that the time has come for action.