parapolitics

Political practices and arrangements that are unacknowledged and that intend to misinform or obfuscate a hidden agenda.

Collusion or collaboration between politicians and paramilitary groups (referring to the 2006 Colombian parapolitics scandal).

And parapolitics risks weakening Mr [Álvaro] Uribe's grip on Congress. A tax reform that would have raised government revenues has been watered down.

Domestically President [Álvaro] Uribe enjoys an 84% approval rating. Most Colombians support him for bringing the country from the brink of becoming a failed state and though the parapolitics scandal is important, "the sense of regaining control trumps everything," said [Michael] Shifter.