Facebook phenomenon

The biggest surprise of the Colombian presidential election is without a doubt the success of Antanas Mockus' election campaign on Facebook. This former mayor of Bogota and presidential candidate for the center-left Greens single-handedly made the Internet a factor in the election.

"It is unprecedented for us in Colombia that social networks and the Internet play such an important role in the election campaign as it is happening right now," Laura Jaramillo of the Colombian independent journalism Internet site lasillavacia.com told Deutsche Welle.

Surprisingly the success of Mockus' Facebook campaign wasn't part of a clever strategy hatched by his political advisors. Instead his message is being distributed voluntarily by his followers, mostly young people.

The result: No other candidate in Colombia comes even close to Mockus in terms of the number of Facebook supporters. Last month alone the membership of his Facebook site increased by 60 percent, roughly 250,000 new supporters. Currently the number of his fans is estimated to be around 700,000, according to the statistics site Facebakers.

"Virtual networks are a fascinating public realm," said Jaramillo. All activities are generated by the users, whether it is organizing demonstrations or so-called flash mobs for Mockus or the design and financing of advertisements for the campaign.

Internet affinity and election fatigue

Free Internet access and improved broadband capabilities have led to a significant increase in Internet usage in Colombia. Most of the country's roughly 9,7 million Facebook users are between 18 and 35 years old. Four years ago, neither they nor Facebook played a major role during the presidential campaign.

"A campaign that is developed and led by users themselves is more successful and more sustainable," said Markus Beckedahl of the German Internet policy blog Netzpolitik.org.

"The users are enthusiastic ambassadors and utilize the excellent possibilities of the Internet for word-of-mouth-marketing," he added. "It is much more effective today when one person persuades someone else to vote for a candidate than to hand out flyers on the street."

But while young people are particularly active social media users, they are the most underrepresented group of voters in Colombian elections.

"Traditionally the participation rate of young people is the lowest of any group. Many have never voted at all," said Jaramillo. "But Mockus is a person who is attractive for the Internet. Young people like him because he represents change."

Politically successful maverick

A trained mathematician and philosopher, Green candidate Mockus is the son of Lithuanian parents and grew up in Germany. In Colombia he attracted national attention also for his provocative public acts. In 1993 as rector of Colombia's national university he once dropped his pants to gain the attention of some 500 students in an noisy auditorium.

For his achievements in transforming Bogota during his two terms as mayor of the city, Mockus was recognized as "outstanding Latin American" and "agent of cultural change" by Harvard University. After his tenure the security and financial situation of Bogota was much improved and the city had shed its largely negative image.

His supporters see Mockus an honest fighter against corruption and crime in Colombia. This image is also reflected in his campaign slogan: With democratic legitimacy, education and talent we will overcome inequality and work towards social change.

Will Internet activists decide the outcome?

According to surveys published just days before the election, Mockus and Juan Manuel Santos, a former defense minister under Alvaro Uribe and candidate for the center-right party La U, are running head-to-head in the polls.

The big question for observers is whether Mockus' Internet supporters will not only campaign for him online, but actually cast their vote in this round of the election and in the likely runoff on June 20.

"Because this is a totally new phenomenon nobody can say for sure what will happen. It remains to be seen whether people who didn't vote last time will do so this time around," said Jaramillo.

If they do, then they could make this election the one with the highest turnout in Colombian history.

Author: Christina Mendoza Weber/mik
Editor: Kyle James