Moral and dogma
A religion may lose its monopoly on moral principles but can not lose its dogmas.
Read MoreClass racism
When I hear Senator Carlos Martinez say he is being chased for being black, I think about the complexities racism has in Colombia.
Read MoreEconomics and happiness
Everyone wants to be happy, who doesn’t? However as we have no precise recipe to achieve this, we dedicate ourselves to pursue what seems like the image we have of happiness: money, love, power, recreation, etc.
Read MorePalestine
The decision of President Santos not to support the entry of Palestine, as a statehood, to the United Nations, not only seems contrary to justice and international law, but also politically misguided.
Read MoreCautios defense of justice
Perhaps the greatest merit judges have in Colombia is their independence from political power
Read MoreCritical defense of justice and the writ for legal protection of fundamental rights
A few months ago I wrote a column proposing that an investigation on the writ for legal protection of fundamental rights be made. This in order to be certain about its problems and, in particular, to know about the true extent of erratic judgments and on the involvement of lawyers and judicial corruption.
Read MoreRecognizing the good citizen
To begin to address the problems of a country it is necessary to answer the following question: what motivates the behavior of humans? There are two possible answers.
Read MoreThe Colombianization of Mexico?
On the occasion of the slaughter that occurred last week at a casino in the city of Monterrey (52 people died), the media and public opinion have referred again to the “Colombianization of Mexico.”
Read MoreUniversity and educational apartheid
This seemed to be a good week for public university. After the return of President Santos from Chile (where students have been protesting for six months), the government announced it was withdrawing the proposal to establish colleges for profit (just under the bill to reform higher education) and earmark additional resources of 1.5 billion pesos to finance the public university. This is good news indeed, but the problem of education in Colombia is so big it takes much more than that.
Read MorePolitics and word order
In these days I was in the difficult task of explaining to a foreigner the details of the current electoral debate. I started then the list of political parties and their ideological differences.
Read MoreColombia is Africa as Well
“The first that calls the attention is the light. Everything is illuminated with light. With clarity. From the sun.” That´s how Ryszard Kapuscinski,a legendary Polish reporter, describes the first impression of an european when arrived to Africa. And that´s how he opens Ebony, the penetrating book that narrates his adventures as a press correspondent in search of the soul of this black continent.
Read MoreDoubt Praise
We live in a world in which we know very little of much. I not only refer to life´s big questions: where do we come from? where are we going? how big is the universe? who live in it?. I refer mostly to the little we know about the actual world, the societies to which we are part, the problems we have and the solutions we need.
Read MoreIrresponsibles
With their language and ideas, sometimes the columnists contribute to the intolerance that exists in the country.
Read MoreThe Massacre from the “Bananeras” and the Inequality of the Victims
In Colombial all victims are equal, but some are more equal than others. With this proposition inspired in a similar phrase from George Orwell´s novel Animal Farm, I highlight the enormous moral asymmetry of Colombian society before its victims.
Read MoreThe Lawyers
While greater the public impact of a profession, greater the interest of the government to regulate it. That´s why that the doctors for example, have more restrictions to exercise their profession than, let´s say, anthropologists. And the lawyers? With law happens the same thing as with medicine: due to the incidence of lawyers in public life – quality and honesty are indispensable for the proper operation of justice and the exercise and protections of civilians rights – the State sets limits to the free practice of the profession.
Read MoreThe Miracles of the Pyramids
The pyramids are those magic objects, talismans that achieved what seemed impossible. For example, there are the 2 miracles that obtained the financial pyramids once they fell down, one, the public debate on the crisis and the other, the critical position towards the actual government.
Read MoreRecommendations concerning protection to victims and witnesses of the peace and justice law
In relation with the sentence T-496/08 of the Colombian Constitutional Court, various women and human rights organizations presented a document of recommendations concerning the Agenda for Protection of Victims and Witnesses, so that the government can comply with the orders issued by the Court.
Read MoreThe Two Colombias
In an essay titled The Parochial Triumvirat, publicized in mid 1900´s, José María Samper hold that in Colombia there were two republics.
Read MoreThe End of “Meritocracia”: the merits democracy
Me, very naive, recommended my students to present themselves to the public contest because that way they didn’t need help from anyone to get a public position. Many did it and are now waiting for the results…. they are going to have a terrible deception.
Read MoreProtection Integral Plan for victims and witnesses of Human Rights violations and Humanitarian International Law infractions, with gender differential focus
This document is an effort of presenting proposals that come from the Civil Society, so the State obeys the Sentence T-496 of 2008 of the Constitutional Court.
Read More