Feature

Vice President of Colombia Presents Optimistic Picture of Country's Developments

Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos Calderón spoke at the Booth School of Business last week about the "dramatic results" Colombians have seen since he and President Álvaro Uribe Vélez were elected in 2002. While he discussed Colombia's many improvements, he also acknowledged the various problems the country still faces. The event was sponsored by Latin America(n) Matters and the Latin American Business Group.

When he asked Santos to be his running mate, Uribe said they had one mission if elected: "recuperate the trust of Colombians in its institutions, in its future, in its the economy." In 2002, the country had 30,0000 murders and 3,000 kidnappings. One-third of the country was in the hands of guerilla groups and 400,000 citizens had been displaced-both inside and outside Colombia. Santos said, "It was a very, very difficult situation, and we were elected to restore order."

Now, he said murders have been reduced by 50 percent, kidnappings are down by 90 percent, and displacement has slowed. Paramilitary group leaders have been extradited to the United States and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is breaking up. Tourism is on the rise and more people are coming into the country than leaving.

"Things are starting to change. We invested a lot of money increasing the size of the judicial system," he explained, along with increasing the size of the police, army, and navy.

Santos called security one of the "three pillars" Uribe has used to rebuild the country's trust. Private investment and social policy make up the other two. He said private investment, both foreign and national, now accounts for about 25 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. These investments, along with opening markets through free trade agreements, has raised employment and boosted Colombia's economy. The investments also gave the government revenue to create social policies, like increasing the number of people with health coverage and creating more education opportunities.

"Obviously there are problems," he said. "There are human rights violations. But we deal with them institutionally. Whoever steps the boundaries is going to go to jail." He said more than 360 members of the military are in jail because of human rights issues and 60 legislators with ties to the mafia have been imprisoned.

He said Colombia is now seen as a model for improvement all over Latin America. "We are in a better stand to confront the world economic situation than we would have been six years ago."

Latin America(n) Matters is a student association in the Harris School that focuses on Latin America and public policy. They work closely with the Booth School of Business' Latin American Business Group and the Center for Latin American Studies. LAM hosts about two events each month examining issues such as the effects of the financial crisis on Latin America, development issues, and current research in Latin American studies.