Colombian Navy soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint after a rebel attack in Lopez de Micay, in the state of Cauca, Colombia, Monday Feb 28, 2011. Rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), attacked a checkpoint in the rural area, killing a navy officer and a farmer, according to Army Gen. Jairo Herazo, head of the
Joint Pacific Command. (Christian Escobar Mora/AP)
After a five-day visit to Colombia, during which I interviewed President Juan Manuel Santos and several other key figures, I came to the following conclusion: The country is doing much better but perhaps not as well as it thinks.
There is no question that Colombia has become a more stable, safer and promising country over the past decade.
While only 10 years ago there was a serious discussion among international academics about whether Colombia was a failed state — a country whose very existence was threatened by political and drug-related violence — it is now on the verge of getting an investment grade rating by Standard & Poor’s and other international credit rating agencies.
Homicide rates have fallen to their lowest levels in 32 years and overall crime rates dropped by 6 per cent last year, government figures show. While Colombia was seen as a security nightmare a few years ago, it is now giving security advice to 14 countries. Santos also has been invited to speak to the G-8 meeting of the world’s most developed nations on security issues in May.
In an interview at the presidential palace, Santos told me that although Colombia still has security problems, “we have made a lot of progress” both on crime reduction and respect for human rights. He added that “there are many lessons that we can share with other countries” on intelligence and crime-fighting strategies.
Santos confessed that he is “somewhat frustrated, somewhat tired” of the four-year-old diplomatic battle to get US congressional approval of the pending US-Colombia free trade agreement. But following recent talks with the Obama administration and US congressional leaders, he added, “I am quite optimistic that this agreement will be finally approved this year.”
But while Santos often reminds his country that Colombia should start measuring its progress against that of the world’s most successful developing countries — and not just against its own troubled past — many Colombians seem happy with the status quo. There is an air of triumphalism in the Colombian media that makes one wonder whether Colombia will make much-needed educational and economic changes, or whether it will be paralysed by complacency.
Colombia’s radio and television stations, as well as much of the print media, constantly trumpet this country’s success stories, such as world-famous singer Shakira, artist Fernando Botero, novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and other Colombians of international stature. There is indeed plenty of talent here, perhaps more than in many other countries.
Noting Colombia’s steady economic growth, many journalists asked me whether this will be “Latin America’s decade,” and — more specifically — whether Colombia is already seen abroad as Latin America’s new success story.
What I didn’t see much of in the media, or hear in private conversations, were discussions about the fact that Colombia is dangerously dependent on world prices of raw materials and that it still ranks below many Latin American countries in competitiveness, education, science and technology.
Colombia ranked 68th in the recently released World Economic Forum’s ‘Global Competitiveness Index 2010-2011’ of 139 nations, almost 40 places behind Chile.
While Colombia’s exports reached a record $40 billion last year, much of the increase was due to a rise in world prices for the country’s oil and other raw materials, according to the business daily Portafolio. Nontraditional exports — mostly manufactured goods — actually fell by nearly 8 per cent last year.
And while Santos and his predecessor, Alvaro Uribe, launched much-needed education and innovation reforms, Colombia is starting from way behind. While South Korea registered 8,800 patents in the United States in 2009, Colombia registered only seven.
My opinion: Colombia is on the right track on virtually every front, but it may be time for the country to think more ambitiously — and move to the next level.
The rosy picture painted by Colombia’s media may have been a good way to prop up the country’s self-esteem 20 years ago, when it was on the verge of becoming a “failed state,” but it may be keeping the country from feeling a sense of urgency to become more competitive in the global economy.
Colombia would benefit from a more realistic view of itself — including the bad news — so that it can better address its remaining problems and reduce poverty faster. A little self-flagellation by the country’s media would certainly help.
© The Miami Herald, 2011. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Media Services.
