From a failed state to a starting powerhouse in Latin America
By: Maria Camila Salazar 10B
There's one thing everyone needs to know about doing business in Bogotá. When it comes to meetings: there's being on time, and then there's Colombian time. Business deals in Latin America's third largest economy are more about building relationships than closing deals. Not only meetings often overrun but also people lose track of time. This kind of situations would annoy most Americans. The Japanese would be mortified. But it has become one of the lineaments of doing business in Colombia's prosper economy. However, Colombians know how to do business just as much as they know how to enjoy life. Colombia's reputation as an entrance to the South and launch road to the North is finally changing the stereotype of a country ridden by drugs, cartels, kidnapping and violence; which is starting to fade.
Diplomacy, hard work and commitment have helped to transform the country over the last decade. The iron fist of former president Álvaro Uribe Velez that helped to destroy many rebels in 2002 has been put back inside by the current president, Juan Manuel Santos. Meanwhile, Colombia's middle class is on the rise, climbing from 16% of the population in 2002 to 27% in 2011. In the streets of Bogotá, Cartier, Louis Vuitton and Armani line up next to high street names Zara and Mango.
The poverty rate (which is defined by the World Bank as anyone living on less than $1.25 a day) has fallen from almost 50% to 34% over the same period. Colombians are lifting themselves out of poverty. Entrepreneurial spirit means many choose to sell goods in little stalls or on the streets. Old jeans and used shoes are sold alongside bauble and food. An improving economy means the advertising slogans are very different now. "Colombia, magical realism", is homage to the country's most famous author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who died last year.
Finally, the statistics support the theory. Colombia's economy grew by 4.8% last year, and is expected to grow above 4% this year, even after a near 50% fall in the oil price.
A visit that will change the country
By: Daniela Pinzon 10B
In a society like ours, there are several topics that create certain controversies among people. We can include in this group topics like politics, religion, economy, education, and health. In the special case of religion, controversies are caused by the different points of view that exist. There aren´t only a few of them, but many, and this is why many beliefs are trying to step on others. However, the major director of the church, Pope Francis, is willing to stop this, as well as the war that hasn´t seized to exist in our country. As we can tell from the news, he is coming to Colombia mainly to give a speech about peace for the dialogues that are occurring at “La Habana”.
From the surveys that have been applied to the population, two “positions” related to the visit of the Pope have risen. One of them is of apathy and indifference, like they don´t even care if he´s coming or not, for the same reason of the different points of view and beliefs that have emerged. However, the other opinion is about faith, expectation and hope. This part of the population is willing to ask the Pope for his signature on the Peace Process that is occurring in Cuba. The most important concern at the moment is the one including the dialogues and the poverty issue. There are other sources that state that Pope Francis is also coming to check on the poverty issue of the most critical places of the country. Nevertheless, this is nothing that has been confirmed yet. The most definite and confirmed visit is the one to Chiquinquirá.
Finally, there are other sources that have insured that the final reason for the Pope to come to our country is related to the intense and unwavering relationship he wants to create between the people and the Catholic religion and Church. He considers that it is very important not only to sign the dialogues of peace, but also to receive the victims in the churches and help them with every single issue they present. As it seems, this visit will state some high standards to reach and will change the mind of many people. In other words, this is going to be a visit that will change an entire country.
Will the subway construction save Bogota?
By: Mariana Rodriguez 10B
The subway is valuable and it would for sure help the mobility and urban development of the city, but it is important to recognize that the subway by itself would not get us out of a traffic jam. In addition, the city would have to make a big effort because there is a huge danger in the finite number of resources that we possess; since even with the generous support of the government, we do not have all the materials we need.
However, is it worth to build the subway? Some users stand that the people who will try this new transport method will save time, the transport operations will be avoided and the emissions and traffic incidents will reduce. In spite of this, some say that the costs outweigh the benefits. For instance, the benefits at a discount rate of 6% are 10 billion and the investments costs, maintenance and operation are 9.5 billion.
On the other hand, is the cost right? The estimated value is among the highest per kilometer of the recent line. In a sample of 21 projects, the subway has the second highest value. Indeed, this is due to the high volume of passengers and soil conditions in the selected alignment.
The national planning director, Simon Gaviria, recently responded to the questions the congress planted about the construction of the subway in Bogotá. He said: “Although there have been questions about the prioritization of the subway in the national department plan 2014-2018, I reiterate that this infrastructure constitutes the most important development; not only for Bogotá, but for Colombia in the coming years.”
Furthermore, according to Gaviria, there are three “big bets” aimed at generating adequate conditions for the implementation of the subway execution. One of them is to generate new sources of revenue for the financial sector of the transporting system. To accomplish this they created pollution or congestion charges and parking attendants that in the future will be crucial for the operation of a subway system.
In addition, it will allow projects that through public-private partnership may develop components of system transportation, keeping a component of 70% in national investment. Finally, we are waiting for the final decision about whether we will construct the subway transportation or not.
