Colombia: A Country Moving Forward
Few nations in the world have changed as much in recent years as Colombia — to the
tremendous benefits of its citizens. Consider the country’s transformation:
Jobs
Colombia’s unemployment rate has fallen from 20% in the late 1990s to single digits
in recent months. Three million jobs have been created since 2002, when the U.S.
Congress further opened the U.S. market to Colombian exports through the Andean Trade
Promotion and Drug Eradication Act — underscoring the power of trade as an effective
alternative development program.
Education and Health Care
Fully 88% of Colombian children are enrolled in school, up
from 71% in 2001. Currently, 73% of Colombians have health care coverage, up from
54% in 2002. In 2006, the government’s budget for education, health care, and social
programs was $12.7 billion, a substantial sum given Colombia’s $100 billion GDP.
Public Safety
Colombia’s homicide rate was cut in half and kidnappings were reduced by
almost 90%over the past five years. Law and order have been restored in rural
municipalities. More than 4,000 labor leaders, judges, human rights workers, and
journalists benefit from program that provides for their personal security.
Human Rights
Colombia’s armed forces have received extensive human rights training
— more than those anywhere else in the Americas. No member of any brigade receiving
U.S. training has been convicted of human rights violations. Partly as a result, 81% of
Colombians express respect for the armed forces — more than for any other institution.
National Reconciliation
Colombia is disarming both left-wing and right-wing armed
groups. The government has made dozens of peace overtures to the FARC and ELN,
Marxist guerrilla groups that have fought the government for four decades. The right-wing
paramilitaries have been disarmed, with more than 40,000 fighters demobilized. As a
Washington Post editorial noted: “At last, the paramilitary network in Colombia and itsmilitary
and political alliances are being exposed and uprooted” (3/15/07).
Narcotics Trafficking
Coca production in Colombia has been reduced by 40% over the
past decade, according to the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy. Since 2000,
Colombian security forces have interdicted cocaine and heroine shipments with an
estimated street value between $35 billion and $40 billion.
How Did This Happen?
President Uribe’s principled leadership and the determination of the
Colombian people have been bolstered by U.S. support through the Andean trade preferences
and Plan Colombia. As the Post concludes, “Colombia’s president can deliver on his promise
to reformthe country’s political systemand extend its authority to a long-lawless countryside.
If Congress wishes to see those changes continue, it should approve the new Colombian aid
plan as well as the free-trade agreement.”
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