Issue-Rule of Law
Hateocracy
In Colombia, hate seems to add more than in other latitudes. If anything has determined Colombian politics in recent years, it is the visceral hatred that President Uribe exercises day after day against President Santos.
Read MoreAccess to ICTs: Is it just about giving power to the people?
Citizens’ enfranchisement is not the only empowerment that will come alongside universalized access to information technology. Indeed, total connectivity will also empower data collectors. But as the digital divide has not yet been closed, there is still time to look for tools to cope with the informatics power that governments and Internet platforms will be able to acquire.
Read MoreEveryday violence
A look at the behavior of homicides, personal injuries and violence between couples shows that the eradication of violent conflict goes beyond the peace process.
Read MoreSystematic murders
Although the government and the General Attorney’s office insist that the killings of social leaders are isolated, the numbers of violent deaths of leaders (156 in the last 14 months, according to the Ombudsman’s Office) shows otherwise.
Read MoreAre believers better people than atheists?
Last week there was a strong debate on religion and morality. It all started with an interview with the Minister of Health, Alejandro Gaviria, about the publication of his latest book, where he speaks, among many other things, of his atheism. Alejandro Ordonez then accused him of being a “confessed atheist” (as if atheism was…
Read MoreConstitutional Control for the Police Code
The constitutional control of the Police Code is absolutely necessary to prevent arbitrariness against citizens , to which the Congress of the Republic left us exposed.
Read MoreTechnology and civilization
Countries such as Colombia try to follow the path that developed countries took in their civilization process. That is fine, however, in that attempt, countries import the technology but leave aside the culture (coordination and self-regulation of the users) that the adequate operation of that technology requires.
Read MoreThe 11th and 12th Commandments
Our precarious civic trust hinders collective action and hampers the development and consolidation of democracy.
Read MoreMocoa
I think it was Jacob Bronowski, the 1970s celebrated popularizer of scientific knowledge, who said that nature cannot be dominated by force, but by knowledge. What happened in Mocoa has much to do with that: a lack of preparedness that originated in a lack of knowledge.
Read MoreDepoliticize the essential
In every society there must be clarity about the difference between what is inside and what is outside the political debate. The decisions that the Government makes in economic, educational or health matters, for example, make part of the first.
Read MoreCan the Inspector General remove Petro from office?
Two reasons why the answer would be “no”. It is practically a done deal the the Inspector General will apply disciplinary sanctions in Gustavo Petro’s case. The mayor will not only be removed from office, he will also be unable to hold public office for a good amount of time (10, 15, 18 years).
Read MoreA Court Scandal?
Is it, as several analysts have pointed out, an abuse, an excessive formalism or cowardice that the Constitutional Court decided to strike down the reform that broadens military jurisdiction because of a procedural problem?
Read MorePrison for Protesting?
It had been a long time since such an objectionable, anti-democratic and unconstitutional piece of legislation, like the one presented by the Minister of Defense, meant to punish with jail time those who go out in to the streets to protest, was presented in Congress.
Read MoreThe Inspector General’s Office: Unnecessary or Dangerous?
The Constitutional Court´s approval of the disciplinary measures against Piedad Córdoba shows the Inspector General´s enormous power. It is an unchecked power, since not even the Court can impose clear limits on it.
Read MoreArbitrary tutela writs against equality
One thing is for a judge or a notary to determine that they cannot marry a same-sex couple, which is a plausible legal interpretation, although I think it is the wrong one.
Read MorePrivate policy?
In october of 2011 it was reported that in prison La Picota, specifically in the prison yard of the so-called “parapolítica”, the future of the regional elections was being decided.
Read MoreTransit: educate to not punish?
Death due to traffic accidents are as painful as inevitable, and have led to many politicians and citizens to ask for stricter punishment against those responsible for said accidents.
Read MoreThe selectivity of the Inspector General regarding human rights
Inspector General Ordóñez [his first name should also be used at first] has a strange relationship with international human rights law. When he talks in opposition to the Legal Framework for Peace, Ordóñez seems to be the most obedient follower of the principles advocated by international human rights bodies. But when he talks about the rights of women, the Inspector General blatantly ignores the concepts and criteria of these same international bodies.
Read MoreMistaken interpretations or a misleading message?
About the press releases issued by the Constitutional Court on the decision about the Legal Framework of Peace.
Read MoreAn eye on the military
Simultaneously to the negotiations in Havana, several reforms are taking place. These reforms aim at granting the military a series of very worrisome prerogatives for a post-conflict context.
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