Education
During his father's rule, he was a student in the prestigious Colegio San Carlos where he developed a reputation as a sensitive hippy. After obtaining a postgraduate in the USA, he returned to Colombia.
During his father's rule, he was a student in the prestigious Colegio San Carlos where he developed a reputation as a sensitive hippy. After obtaining a postgraduate in the USA, he returned to Colombia.
On his return he founded a magazine called Guión and a television news program called Noticiero TV Hoy. As a regular news anchor he became a nationally known figure. In 1982 he formally began his political career, gaining a seat on the local Bogotá council. He also specialized in press articles on the production and trafficking of cocaine, for which he gained many journalistic awards.He was kidnapped on 18 January 1988 in Antioquia by the Medellín drug cartel, which was pressuring the Colombian government into preventing the extradition of Pablo Escobar and other druglords to the USA. He was found by the police a week later, and in March he was elected mayor of Bogotá, a position he held until 1990. He gained notoriety by strengthening security and reducing crime.
In 1994 he stood for the presidency against Ernesto Samper, losing by only 2 points in the second round. Pastrana immediately accused Samper of using drug money to finance his campaign, and provided audio recordings to the authorities which subsequently attracted much media attention and eventually led to a scandal known as "Process 8.000" (Proceso 8.000).While this accusation underwent a parliamentary investigation, Pastrana retired into his private life. In 1998, Pastrana announced his intention to run for the President. This time he won.
His presidency is remembered first for his negotiations with the two left-wing guerrilla groups FARC and ELN, culminating in the grant of a demilitarized safe haven to the guerrillas the size of Switzerland, and second for his breaking off said negotiations. It is also remembered for a growing degree of unpopularity in polls as his term progressed. Some critics accused him of possibly accepting unspecified bribes from leading FARC and ELN members, but no concrete evidence of that was presented during his presidency. His administration proposed and initially oversaw the implementation of the Plan Colombia aid package and anti-drug strategy. He was also heavily criticized for all the seemingly pleasure trips he took around the world during his term.
