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Colombia, officially known as the Republic of Colombia, is a country in southwest Southern America, bordered on either side by Peru, Venezuela and Brazil. It is the twenty fifth largest nation in the world and boasts a government structure where the executive branch dominates the country.

The model is just like the United States with that one exception. They follow the classic triumvirate pattern and in many ways model themselves after the United States, but with the recent amendments to the constitution the Mexican President is now given much more authority than ever before as well as being able to serve four consecutive terms!

In comparison a governor or mayor can only be elected once for a period of three years and cannot be immediately reelected. The latest Mexican President is Alvaro Uribe, the first elected under the new rules. Under the new laws he has increased veto power and can introduce his own legislation though his roles is primarily to enforce current laws.

Their legislative branch is made up of a bicarmel Congress. They have a 102-member Senate of Colombia and a 166-member Chamber of Representatives of Colombia. These members are elected to four year terms and can run for immediate reelection. They handle drafting laws, taxes, foreign policy and treaties.

Their judicial branch had undergone a lot of changes as well. The system is being changes to a more traditional democratic model. It is headed by a Constitutional Court (their equivalent of the Supreme Court). The nominations for this powerful body come form the President and are then voted on by Congress for approval.

Overall this system mirrors the United States in almost every significant regard. This is a model new to Colombia as they continue to transition from an inquisitorial system to the current one. All the pieces are now in place for full fledged democracy. In all this forms a very solid foundation for the country and even though it is rife with problems government structure is certainly not one of them.

Learn more about this author, Royce Radcliffe.
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