She knows violence

It was the nadir of her fortunes and she looked intensely spiritual. She was a picture of resignation, reminiscent of a grieving Virgin from the Renaissance. Many years had to pass before she could appease the hurt, anxiety and despair she must have felt in captivity, and find the strength in her heart and body to once more defend certain political ideals in her country. It could not have happened overnight. She even felt the need to exile herself abroad, in her "other" homeland, France.

She seeks no personal glory

That is why I believe in her so much as a voice in our political scenario. She has suffered — personally and physically — the horror of our violence, as her book testifies in detail. But she has returned with serenity and a conciliatory, almost loving, vision of Colombia and its future. No more shouting, histrionics, nor preaching and curses.

The first and most intelligent thing she has done was to avoid another run for the presidency. She seeks no personal glory in this. No. That is not her ambition. She has a certain idea of Colombia — a possible, hypothetical Colombia — which she shares with so many of her fellow citizens. It is a noble vision that merits a struggle, because it encompasses peace, justice and decency.

Compassion from the center

And as she is not a pre-candidate, she has managed to unite and complement those who are in that sector of politics we call the center. It is the middle ground, a promising, libertarian, honest point in the political spectrum that does not conceal or disguise what it says, nor hungers or thirsts for secretive, shameful desires. No.

Will we be able to stand another four, wasted years?

It has none of the rancor of the extreme left nor the meanness of the extreme right. These are the infernal extremes one must escape, and she is clear on that. At least that is my impression. I may sound an idealist or naive here, but that is how I feel and am holding onto the feeling for dear life. Will we be able to stand another four, wasted years like these ones? Four more years of bland complacency, indolence, of deceit and pretense on the side of the government? For the country, it might prove to be a calamity.

I believe that ultimately the elections will be what they've always been: a showdown between conservative and reactionary thought on one side, and liberal, progressive thought on the other. Without artificial distractions or a noisy sideshow, we may see that liberals outnumber conservatives.

The possibility that this can being tested and asserted in the next elections, no less, is what Ingrid has achieved with her return to national politics.