The Mockus phenomenon is in many ways the Colombian analog of the rise of “alternative” presidents across Latin America in recent years: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil, Michelle Bachelet in Chile, Evo Morales in Bolivia, Mauricio Funes in El Salvador, Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, José Mujica in Uruguay, Rafael Correa in Ecuador, Fernando Lugo in Paraguay, and Hugo Chávez in Venezuela.