La Silla Vacía
Encyclopedia
La Silla Vacía is an Colombia
n news
website
founded by journalist and writer Juanita León
. The site focuses primarily on Colombian politics
.
La Silla Vacía describes itself as an "informative and interactive medium for people interested in Colombian political current issues," by focusing on "stories which actually describe the way power is exercised in Colombia: on political figures who pull the strings of power, strategies in order to reach and keep it, on ideas and interests which underlie the big decisions taken in the country," aiming to do "good journalism
."
The first one occurred 7 January 1999, when the failed peace process
between president
Andrés Pastrana administration and FARC started. Manuel Marulanda Vélez (aka Tirofijo / Sureshot), FARC top leader at the time, refused to attend the ceremony held in San Vicente del Caguán
, leaving a plastic white chair assigned to him empty.
The second alludes to a proposal prompted by the parapolitics scandal
. The idea was to punish lawmakers and ultimately parties involved with illegal armed groups in case they are investigated or arrested, leaving their seats in Congress empty, instead of being replaced with another politicians. It was passed by the House of Representatives
in May 2009, but it will be enforced only if the lawmaker is sentenced, and it will not apply for current Congresspeople, just as president Álvaro Uribe Vélez wished.
User registration is optional for reading the website, but compulsory in order to leave comments.
grant. Leon is also an Ashoka-Knight Fellow.
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 news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
founded by journalist and writer Juanita León
Juanita León
Juanita León García is a Colombian journalist, writer and lecturer.She was born in Colombia and graduated from law school at University of the Andes before moving to New York City to do a M.S. from the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University...
. The site focuses primarily on Colombian politics
Politics of Colombia
The Politics of Colombia take place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Colombia is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government...
.
La Silla Vacía describes itself as an "informative and interactive medium for people interested in Colombian political current issues," by focusing on "stories which actually describe the way power is exercised in Colombia: on political figures who pull the strings of power, strategies in order to reach and keep it, on ideas and interests which underlie the big decisions taken in the country," aiming to do "good journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
."
Name
Its name, "The Empty Chair" (or, alternatively, "The Empty Seat"), makes reference to at least two political events in Colombia.The first one occurred 7 January 1999, when the failed peace process
1999–2002 FARC-Government peace process
The FARC-Government peace process , from January 7, 1999 to February 20, 2002, was a failed peace process between the Government of President Andrés Pastrana and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrilla group in an effort to bring to an end the ongoing Colombian Armed...
between president
President of Colombia
The President of Colombia is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Colombia. The office of president was established upon the ratification of the Constitution of 1819, by the Congress of Angostura, convened in December 1819, when Colombia was part of "la Gran Colombia"...
Andrés Pastrana administration and FARC started. Manuel Marulanda Vélez (aka Tirofijo / Sureshot), FARC top leader at the time, refused to attend the ceremony held in San Vicente del Caguán
San Vicente del Caguán
San Vicente del Caguán is a town and municipality in Caquetá Department, Colombia.Between 1998 and 2002, San Vicente del Caguán was the center of the demilitarized zone , which was created as a safe haven for the FARC. Two days after the peace talks were ended, Ingrid Betancourt was kidnapped while...
, leaving a plastic white chair assigned to him empty.
The second alludes to a proposal prompted by the parapolitics scandal
Colombian parapolitics scandal
The Colombian parapolitics scandal or "parapolítica" in Spanish refers to the 2006–present Colombian congressional scandal in which several congressmen and other politicians have been indicted for suspicions of colluding with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia , a paramilitary group which...
. The idea was to punish lawmakers and ultimately parties involved with illegal armed groups in case they are investigated or arrested, leaving their seats in Congress empty, instead of being replaced with another politicians. It was passed by the House of Representatives
Chamber of Representatives of Colombia
The Chamber of Representatives is the lower house of the Congress of Colombia.The Chamber has 166 elected members for four-year terms.-How the Chamber is elected:...
in May 2009, but it will be enforced only if the lawmaker is sentenced, and it will not apply for current Congresspeople, just as president Álvaro Uribe Vélez wished.
Contents
The website is divided in five big sections:- Desde la Silla ("From the Chair"): the main stories published on the website. Most of them are journalistic articles or analysis pieces. There are some interviews, including two with presidential pre-candidates for the 2010 electionsColombian presidential election, 2010The 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...
Sergio FajardoSergio FajardoSergio 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....
and Rafael Pardo. These were conducted through a liveWeb conferencingWeb conferencing refers to a service that allows conferencing events to be shared with remote locations. Most vendors also provide either a recorded copy of an event, or a means for a subscriber to record an event. The service allows information to be shared simultaneously, across geographically...
transmissionWebcastA webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand...
via internet, with users asking questions using the website, FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, and TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
. - La Movida del Día: every weekday a question on a current issue is posted by the staff. The question is answered by political figures, analysts, and intellectuals. Users can "endorse" or "not endorse" these answers.
- Querido diario ("Dear diary"): briefs focusing on political gossip.
- El Blogueo ("The Blogging"): blogs by analysts, organizations, and intellectuals, focusing on economy, social responsibility, internet, media, relations with Venezuela, Latin America and the United States, etc.
- La Butaca ("The Stool"): described as a section where "from diverse narrative formats with no limits the other [Colombia] is shown on La Butaca, with their sometimes ironic, acid, or simply different glances."
User registration is optional for reading the website, but compulsory in order to leave comments.
Funding
La Silla Vacía is funded through an Open Society InstituteOpen Society Institute
The Open Society Institute , renamed in 2011 to Open Society Foundations, is a private operating and grantmaking foundation started by George Soros, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform...
grant. Leon is also an Ashoka-Knight Fellow.