The Oh, Hello and

I'm welcome to Behind the News. My name is Doug Henwood. Today Sean Jacobs

reviews the complicated legacy of Winnie Mandela in the wake of her death

and Forrest Hilton outlines the politics of Colombia as it prepares for presidential election on May 27.

First, South Africa.

On April 2nd, Winnie Mandela, the widow of Nelson, died at the age of 81.

When the two divorced in 1992, she began to refer to herself as Winnie Mandica Zela Mandela, but the renaming

didn't quite stick.

Although Nelson was the more prominent of the pair,

she was a substantial political figure in her own right.

She was widely reviewed from the time of Nelson's jailing

in 1962, well into the mid-1980s. Her reputation took a hit when she became associated with

revolutionary violence, notably the practice of necklacing those perceived as traitors

to the movement, thrusting a gasoline soaked tire around their torso and setting it a flame, resulting in a protracted

and horrible death. That's the part of her history the right wants people to remember. But there was a lot more to

her than that. Here's Sean Jacobs, a professor at the New School in Manhattan,

and founder of the Africa is a country website

who grew up in South Africa to evaluate her legacy.

Sean Jacobs.

Winnie Mandela died the other day with a contradictory reputation.

Let's just start with a summary evaluation.

What do you think of the long career of Winnie Mandela?

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