Stuck University
Every year I write a similar Op-Ed about the deplorable situation lived by the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Here is my take on the issue this year.
Read MoreWorst than a War
Colombia is a country divided by geography, history and ideologies. Here great consensus and projects of society have been scarce like snow.
Read MoreThe crime factory
President Santos posited this week that the so-called urban “pots” are crime factories and ordered dismantling them in twenty cities in the country.
But the issue is more complex and it cannot be understood outside the so-called war on drugs.
Read MoreChipre and the pirates
The crisis in Chipre (that small island in the Mediterranean that closed its banks this week after the restrictions imposed by the famous Troika) made me remember the pirates of the XVII century.
Read MoreBack to the middleages
At least 30 years ago, the left started to speak ill about multinationals.
Read MoreThe pope seen from France
France isn’t what one would say the bastion of catholicisme. It’s more the other way around. There, the catholic church has had many headaches, starting by the promulgation, at the beginning of the French Revolution, of the so calles “Civil Constitution of the clergy”, that forced priests and bishops to swear fidelity to the revolutionary people.
Read MoreHessel and Chávez
The last few have been of grief for the left. Last week, at his 95 years of age, died the ex leader of the french resistance, ex diplomatic and the inspirer of the movement of the indignants, Stephane Hessel.
Read MoreThe shepherd
According to the catholic doctrine, the pope is like a shepherd that guides his sheeps on the way to salvation; in this metafore is founded, not only his power, but also his abnegation and his devotion.
Read MoreNegotiating with the devil
More than a good man, Abraham Lincoln was a good president (in the United States but they call him The Hones Abe).
Read MoreThe humility of arrogance
The abdication of the Pope Benedict XVI has been seen as an act of humility.That´s how spiitual and political liders around the wold have put it.
Read MoreMassive displacement and dispossession
Massive displacement and dispossession is not only a terrible humanitarian tragedy.
Read MoreWell appointed judges
Being appointed to the US Supreme Court is almost as big an honor as being buried in the Panthéon in France. The only difference is people appointed to the Court are still alive.
Read MoreDejusticia’s research about the re-election’s effects was quoted in La Silla Vacia.
One of the principal arguments exposed by those who oppose Uribe’s second re-election is the disturbance of the balance of power granted in the 1991 Constitution.
The entire article may be consulted in:
http://www.lasillavacia.com/historia/2272
From Recyclers to Unwanted?
Some years ago, a recycler that wore the impeccable green overall from Cooperativa Rescatar told me: “Since I wear the uniform neither the Police nor the people that believed I was a thief punch me”.
Read MoreReparations in Colombia: Analysis and Proposals
The reparation of victims of heinous crimes in Colombia is far from being peaceful. Although there is some legal, social, and political consensus that that these victims must be repaired, there are different positions regarding the content and scope of their right to reparation. It is therefore necessary to advance from the general discourse of reparations to victims, now almost universally accepted in Colombia, to a more specific analysis of the thorny issues. This was why in the field of the master’s degree in law from the “Universidad Nacional”, the Research Group “Studies in theory of law, political theory and constitutional law” decided to develop a research and discussion of the reparation of victims of atrocious crimes, trying to analyze, with an interdisciplinary approach, some of the sensitivities in this area. This book collects some of the results of the investigations conducted by master’s degree students who participated in this project. The articles compiled address diverse and complementary topics. Thus, the introduction presents the common conceptual framework that formed the basis for the individual research of each of the authors. The first part contains conceptual reflections and comparative analysis of reparation policies. The second part includes differential approaches to the repair in order to discuss the challenges of repairing indigenous communities and women. Finally, the third part specifically addresses the reparation for the crime of forced displacement. We hope this book is a good input for those who are interested in these issues.
Read MoreComments on the official response to the Decision T-496 of 2008
This document presents some comments to the official response presented by the Ministry of Interior and Justice and the Attorney General’s Office to the case T-496 of 2008, which amended the Decree 3570 of 2007 that established the program of Victim and Witness Protection of Law 975 of 2005. In particular, it identifies the reasons why the Case’ Monitoring Committee believes the answer does not fully and integrally comply the orders issued by the Constitutional Court.
Read MoreDemocratic Coalition
For a democratic country to progress it needs at least these three elements: security, social equality, and respect for the law.
Read MoreRacial discrimination in Colombia
Every 21 of May, Colombians celebrate the National Day of Afro-Colombians in order to commemorate the abolition of slavery in 1851. This national day was established by the Law 975 of 2001.
Read MoreThe Survival of The Past
What I believe is cultural heritage, in spite of globalization, is something more important than what economists and other believe it is. The past survives in our present days.
Read MoreCamilo Sanchez’ column about the stigma of homosexuality was published in the German magazine ILA (No. 35).
ILA, a German magazine, in its edition No. 35 of May 2009 published Camilo Sanchez’ column about the stigma of homosexuality in Colombia.
Read More