Antanas Mockus
Encyclopedia
Aurelijus Rutenis Antanas Mockus Šivickas (born 25 March 1952) is a Colombia
n mathematician
, philosopher
, and politician
.
The son of Lithuanian immigrants, he left his post as the president of the National University of Colombia
in Bogotá
in 1993, and later that year ran a successful campaign for mayor. He proceeded to preside over Bogotá as mayor for two (non-consecutive) terms, during which he became known for springing surprising and humorous initiatives upon the city's inhabitants. These tended to involve grand gestures, including local artists or personal appearances by the mayor himself—taking a shower in a commercial about conserving water, or walking the streets dressed in spandex and a cape as Supercitizen. On March 4, 2010, he was elected in a public consultation as the Colombian Green Party candidate for the presidential election in 2010
.
On April 4, 2010, Antanas Mockus chose Sergio Fajardo
, former mayor of Medellín
, as his vice-presidential running mate. On April 9, 2010 he announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease
. He told La W radio: "The prediction is that this will not affect my mental activities. I think it is absolutely fitting to tell the people about the diagnosis and about the prognosis—which is 12 years or more of normal life thanks to medication." Mockus finished second in the polling, leading to a runoff election with Juan Manuel Santos
, which Santos won. Mockus resigned from the Green Party in June 2011 because he opposed its Bogotá mayoral candidate being supported by former right-wing President Álvaro Uribe
.
. He holds a 1972 Bachelor of Arts
degree in mathematics from the University of Burgundy
in Dijon, France and a 1988 Master of Arts
degree in philosophy from the National University of Colombia
. He has been a professor and researcher at the university since 1975 and has served as its vice president (1988–1991) and president (1991–1993). As its president, he contributed to the formulation of the Colombian Constitution of 1991
, focusing on educational issues. In a notable 1993 incident, when confronted with a disruptive group of students, he mooned
them. He later explained his action by saying "Innovative behavior can be useful when you run out of words", and linked it to philosopher Pierre Bourdieu
's concept of "symbolic violence." He resigned as University president during the aftermath but gained a higher public profile that benefited his subsequent run for the mayorship.
Famous initiatives included hiring 420 mime
s to make fun of traffic violators, because he believed Colombians were more afraid of being ridiculed than fined. He also put in place one "Women's Night", on which the city's men were asked to stay home for an evening to look after the house and the children. The city sponsored free open-air concerts, bars offered women-only specials, Ciclovia
and the city's women police were in charge of keeping the peace. Amassing political support mainly from Bogotá's middle and upper classes, he has been much less successful attracting voters in the national level.
During Mockus' unsuccessful presidential bid in 1998, Enrique Peñalosa
replaced him as mayor. Peñalosa worked in a similar way instituting popular new bike paths and bus systems. When Mockus ran again for the 2001 mayorship, he held a ceremony in a public fountain "to ask forgiveness for leaving the mayor's office in an unsuccessful bid for the presidency." The impact of Mockus and Peñalosa on the development of Bogotá is described in a documentary film released in October 2009 with the title CITIES ON SPEED - Bogotá Change.
In 2003 Mockus stepped down as mayor, to be replaced by Luis Eduardo Garzón, and took a year's sabbatical, traveling and speaking around the world. He planned to return to teaching at National University of Colombia the following year, although he said he was "considering the possibility of launching a presidential campaign". After spending two weeks as a visiting fellow at the Harvard's Kennedy School of Government
in the United States in 2004, "to share lessons about civic engagement with students and faculty", Mockus returned to Harvard as a Visiting Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures to teach two Spanish classes during the Fall 2004–2005 semester. In November, Mockus made a special trip to the University of Virginia
to speak about the use of positive social mechanisms in relation to his tenure as the mayor of Bogotá.
In 2004 Lithuanian worldwide daily Draugas
chose Mockus as Lithuanian of the Year. In October, 2004 he for the first time visited Lithuanian community in Chicago
, Illinois
, which is the biggest Lithuanian
community outside the Republic of Lithuania, and delivered a speech in his native Lithuanian language
. He is currently the President of Corpovisionarios, an organization that consults to cities about addressing their problems through the same policy methodology that was so successful during his terms as Mayor of Bogotá.
, first in his own name and later as Noemí Sanín Posada
's running mate. Mockus ran in the 2006 presidential election
as a member of the Indigenous Social Alliance Movement
. He finished fourth in the election, attracting 1.24% of the vote.
In August 2009, Mockus and two other past mayors of Bogotá (Enrique Peñalosa
and Luis Eduardo Garzón) joined a new political movement, Colombian Green Party and decided that one of them would run for office in the 2010 Colombian presidential elections
. Mockus, Peñalosa and Garzón embarked on an innovative campaign, in which they acknowledged and honored each other's qualifications and preparedness for the job, and telling people to choose whomever they liked best. Through a popular consultation carried on March 14, 2010, which he won by a large margin, Mockus became the Colombian Green Party presidential candidate.
On April 4, 2010, Antanas Mockus chose Medellín
's former mayor Sergio Fajardo
as his running mate, unifying two groups at the center of the political spectrum. Mockus finished second in the first round of voting, with 21.5% of the vote, qualifying him to participate in a runoff election with Juan Manuel Santos
, which Mockus lost decisively with 27.5% of the vote.
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n mathematician
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, and politician
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
.
The son of Lithuanian immigrants, he left his post as the president of the National University of Colombia
National University of Colombia
The Universidad Nacional de Colombia , also called UNAL or just UN, is a public, national, coeducational, research university, located primarily in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, Colombia...
in Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
in 1993, and later that year ran a successful campaign for mayor. He proceeded to preside over Bogotá as mayor for two (non-consecutive) terms, during which he became known for springing surprising and humorous initiatives upon the city's inhabitants. These tended to involve grand gestures, including local artists or personal appearances by the mayor himself—taking a shower in a commercial about conserving water, or walking the streets dressed in spandex and a cape as Supercitizen. On March 4, 2010, he was elected in a public consultation as the Colombian Green Party candidate for the presidential election in 2010
Colombian presidential election, 2010
The Colombian presidential election of 2010 took place under a two-round system, with an initial vote held on May 30 and a second poll held three weeks later on June 20. A referendum proposal that would have allowed incumbent President Álvaro Uribe the opportunity to run for a third term was...
.
On April 4, 2010, Antanas Mockus chose Sergio Fajardo
Sergio Fajardo
Sergio Fajardo Valderrama, a mathematician from University of the Andes, Colombia turned politician, was the mayor of Medellín from 2003 to 2007. He ran as an independent. Fajardo was granted a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, former mayor of Medellín
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
, as his vice-presidential running mate. On April 9, 2010 he announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
. He told La W radio: "The prediction is that this will not affect my mental activities. I think it is absolutely fitting to tell the people about the diagnosis and about the prognosis—which is 12 years or more of normal life thanks to medication." Mockus finished second in the polling, leading to a runoff election with Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos Calderón is a Colombian politician who has been the President of Colombia since 7 August 2010. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Trade, Minister of Finance, and Minister of National Defense.-Career:...
, which Santos won. Mockus resigned from the Green Party in June 2011 because he opposed its Bogotá mayoral candidate being supported by former right-wing President Álvaro Uribe
Álvaro Uribe
Alvaro Uribe Vélez was the 58th President of Colombia, from 2002 to 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid....
.
Early life and career
Mockus was born in BogotáBogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
. He holds a 1972 Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in mathematics from the University of Burgundy
University of Burgundy
The University of Burgundy is a university located in Dijon, France.The University of Burgundy is situated on a large campus called Campus Montmuzard, 15 minutes by bus from the City Centre...
in Dijon, France and a 1988 Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree in philosophy from the National University of Colombia
National University of Colombia
The Universidad Nacional de Colombia , also called UNAL or just UN, is a public, national, coeducational, research university, located primarily in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, Colombia...
. He has been a professor and researcher at the university since 1975 and has served as its vice president (1988–1991) and president (1991–1993). As its president, he contributed to the formulation of the Colombian Constitution of 1991
Colombian Constitution of 1991
The Political Constitution of Colombia, better known as the Constitution of 1991, is the current governing document of the Republic of Colombia. Promulgated on July 4 of 1991 , it replaced the Constitution of 1886...
, focusing on educational issues. In a notable 1993 incident, when confronted with a disruptive group of students, he mooned
Mooning
Mooning is the act of displaying one's bare buttocks by removing clothing, e.g., by lowering the backside of one's trousers and underpants, usually bending over, whether also exposing the genitals or not...
them. He later explained his action by saying "Innovative behavior can be useful when you run out of words", and linked it to philosopher Pierre Bourdieu
Pierre Bourdieu
Pierre Bourdieu was a French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher.Starting from the role of economic capital for social positioning, Bourdieu pioneered investigative frameworks and terminologies such as cultural, social, and symbolic capital, and the concepts of habitus, field or location,...
's concept of "symbolic violence." He resigned as University president during the aftermath but gained a higher public profile that benefited his subsequent run for the mayorship.
Bogotá mayorship
Under Mockus's leadership, Bogotá saw improvements such as: water usage dropped 40%, 7000 community security groups were formed and the homicide rate fell 70%, traffic fatalities dropped by over 50%, drinking water was provided to all homes (up from 79% in 1993), and sewerage was provided to 95% of homes (up from 71%). When he asked residents to pay a voluntary extra 10% in taxes, 63,000 people did so. His market-oriented social policies were much less successful. Poverty and unemployment levels were high throughout his tenures and continue to be a pressing issue in Bogotá's social life.Mime artist
A mime artist is someone who uses mime as a theatrical medium or as a performance art, involving miming, or the acting out a story through body motions, without use of speech. In earlier times, in English, such a performer was referred to as a mummer...
s to make fun of traffic violators, because he believed Colombians were more afraid of being ridiculed than fined. He also put in place one "Women's Night", on which the city's men were asked to stay home for an evening to look after the house and the children. The city sponsored free open-air concerts, bars offered women-only specials, Ciclovia
Ciclovía
Ciclovía is term which translates from Spanish into English as "bike path" and now used worldwide to describe either a permanently designated bicycle route or a temporary event, the closing of the street to automobiles for use by others.-Origins in Colombia:Each Sunday and holiday certain main...
and the city's women police were in charge of keeping the peace. Amassing political support mainly from Bogotá's middle and upper classes, he has been much less successful attracting voters in the national level.
During Mockus' unsuccessful presidential bid in 1998, Enrique Peñalosa
Enrique Peñalosa
Enrique Peñalosa Londoño is a Colombian politician and New Urbanist. He was mayor of Bogotá, from 1998 until 2001, and was runner-up in 2007. He is running in 2011 for mayor as the Green Party candidate. He has also worked as a journalist and consultant on urban and transportation policy...
replaced him as mayor. Peñalosa worked in a similar way instituting popular new bike paths and bus systems. When Mockus ran again for the 2001 mayorship, he held a ceremony in a public fountain "to ask forgiveness for leaving the mayor's office in an unsuccessful bid for the presidency." The impact of Mockus and Peñalosa on the development of Bogotá is described in a documentary film released in October 2009 with the title CITIES ON SPEED - Bogotá Change.
In 2003 Mockus stepped down as mayor, to be replaced by Luis Eduardo Garzón, and took a year's sabbatical, traveling and speaking around the world. He planned to return to teaching at National University of Colombia the following year, although he said he was "considering the possibility of launching a presidential campaign". After spending two weeks as a visiting fellow at the Harvard's Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
in the United States in 2004, "to share lessons about civic engagement with students and faculty", Mockus returned to Harvard as a Visiting Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures to teach two Spanish classes during the Fall 2004–2005 semester. In November, Mockus made a special trip to the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
to speak about the use of positive social mechanisms in relation to his tenure as the mayor of Bogotá.
In 2004 Lithuanian worldwide daily Draugas
Draugas
Draugas is the only Lithuanian daily newspaper published abroad. It is read not only in the United States, but in Canada, South America, Australia, and Europe as well.-History:...
chose Mockus as Lithuanian of the Year. In October, 2004 he for the first time visited Lithuanian community in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, which is the biggest Lithuanian
Lithuanians
Lithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,765,600 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Their native language...
community outside the Republic of Lithuania, and delivered a speech in his native Lithuanian language
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
. He is currently the President of Corpovisionarios, an organization that consults to cities about addressing their problems through the same policy methodology that was so successful during his terms as Mayor of Bogotá.
Presidential bids
In between his two terms as mayor, Mockus ran an unsuccessful 1998 bid for the presidencyColombian presidential election, 1998
Presidential elections were held in Colombia on May 31, 1998 for the first round, and the second round was held on June 21, 1998. The election was won by Andrés Pastrana....
, first in his own name and later as Noemí Sanín Posada
Noemí Sanín
Marta Noemí del Espíritu Santo Sanín Posada is a Colombian lawyer and politician, twice Ambassador of Colombia to the United Kingdom, as well as Ambassador to Spain and Venezuela...
's running mate. Mockus ran in the 2006 presidential election
Colombian presidential election, 2006
The 2006 Colombian presidential election was held on 28 May 2006. Álvaro Uribe was re-elected as President of the Republic and will serve another four-year term, starting on 7 August 2006...
as a member of the Indigenous Social Alliance Movement
Indigenous Social Alliance Movement
The Indigenous Social Alliance Movement is a progressive indigenist party in Colombia. At the last legislative elections, 10 March 2002, the party won parliamentary representation, one of many smaller parties....
. He finished fourth in the election, attracting 1.24% of the vote.
In August 2009, Mockus and two other past mayors of Bogotá (Enrique Peñalosa
Enrique Peñalosa
Enrique Peñalosa Londoño is a Colombian politician and New Urbanist. He was mayor of Bogotá, from 1998 until 2001, and was runner-up in 2007. He is running in 2011 for mayor as the Green Party candidate. He has also worked as a journalist and consultant on urban and transportation policy...
and Luis Eduardo Garzón) joined a new political movement, Colombian Green Party and decided that one of them would run for office in the 2010 Colombian presidential elections
Colombian presidential election, 2010
The Colombian presidential election of 2010 took place under a two-round system, with an initial vote held on May 30 and a second poll held three weeks later on June 20. A referendum proposal that would have allowed incumbent President Álvaro Uribe the opportunity to run for a third term was...
. Mockus, Peñalosa and Garzón embarked on an innovative campaign, in which they acknowledged and honored each other's qualifications and preparedness for the job, and telling people to choose whomever they liked best. Through a popular consultation carried on March 14, 2010, which he won by a large margin, Mockus became the Colombian Green Party presidential candidate.
On April 4, 2010, Antanas Mockus chose Medellín
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
's former mayor Sergio Fajardo
Sergio Fajardo
Sergio Fajardo Valderrama, a mathematician from University of the Andes, Colombia turned politician, was the mayor of Medellín from 2003 to 2007. He ran as an independent. Fajardo was granted a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
as his running mate, unifying two groups at the center of the political spectrum. Mockus finished second in the first round of voting, with 21.5% of the vote, qualifying him to participate in a runoff election with Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos Calderón is a Colombian politician who has been the President of Colombia since 7 August 2010. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Trade, Minister of Finance, and Minister of National Defense.-Career:...
, which Mockus lost decisively with 27.5% of the vote.
External links
- 2010 Mockus Presidential Campaign website
- Partido Verde (Green Party, Colombia)