Born Before Your Time
The Swiss scientist said once: “Those who believe in progress are destined to lament being born before their time.”
Read MoreDomestic Work’s Value
When I arrived in Bogotá one of the things that most impressed me the most was that every house I visited was so clean and organized it looked like something out of a magazine catalog.
Read MoreTrimming Pork
Although far from being perfect, the reform to the judiciary that is currently in Congress brings positive and important changes that need to be kept and improved.
Read MoreA Problematic Letter
The letter signed by the Prosecutor General and the presidents of the High Courts, in which they strongly criticize the reform to the judiciary proposed by the balance of powers bill and call for its failure, has as much good as bad and ugly.
Read MoreThe Transmilenio Line Cutters
In every society there is a percentage of inidividuals that violate norms. That percentage usually falls below 1% in regards to crimes like homocide, theft, or battery; and rarely exceeds 10% when dealing with citizen norms, like respecting lines and traffic lights.
Read MoreBlack Lives Matter
Those who have followed with disbelief the killings of young black men in the United States could find similar reasons for indignation right here at home.
Read MoreWhat Happens when US Christian Fundamentalists Shape Public Policy in the Global South?
While religion can positively impact issues of social justice and human rights, it is profoundly problematic that the religious beliefs of a minority of the US are permitted to dictate issues of public health and morality in the Global South.
Read MoreLand Restitution or Legitimation of Displacement
The land restitution’s failure would not only bury victims’ rights, but would also legitimate the displacement practices of large economic actors.
Read MoreFumigating Reason
Some of the opposition’s arguments in response to the Health Minstry’s recommendation to suspend fumigation would be laughable, if it were not for the fact that they put into play something much too important: the health of many Colombians.
Read MoreScience and Democracy at the Solicitor General’s Office
A few days ago, when there was a political discussion, there were two opposing sides.
Read MoreDistrict Shaman vs. Prosecutors’ Te Deum
Public funds should not finance any religious worship expression.
Read MoreAh, normal!
Disability is not a disease. The contribution of doctors is important but more of the society is needed.
Read MoreThe challenges of land restitution
Land restitution, which seems to be starting seriously with the handing over of the farm Las Catas last Thursday to 164 displaced farm families, is a necessary step. But it will not only be very difficult to achieve significant results but even if successful, the return is insufficient to consolidate peace, democracy, and justice in the rural sector.
Read MoreLGBT families: equal rights, equal protection
This discussion paper seeks to contribute in understanding the transformation that has occurred with the recognition of LGBT families, as well as identifying their main implications in order to guarantee a proper implementation of such recognition.
Read MoreInstitutional incorporation of the periphery in Colombia: Decentralization, royalties, and the National Plan of Consolidation
This paper starts from the analysis presented in the book “The states of the country. Municipal institutions and local realities”(2011) in order to analyze, with a less academic approach and more of a public policy recommendation, three processes of state formation in Colombia: the decentralization process, the impact of royalties in the municipalities, and the National Territorial Consolidation Plan currently being implemented in some parts of the country.
Read MoreMunicipal stories of institutional weakness. The cases of Riohacha, Mocoa, and Arauca
This document complements, from a qualitative approach, the research contained in the book “The states of the country. Municipal institutions and local realities”. Here are the “life stories” of three municipalities -Riohacha, Mocoa, and Arauca- in which state power is not as strong as in other territories. In these stories we wanted to “contextualize” the hard data of the quantitative part and link some institutional indicators with a history and a specific social and political reality. We wanted, in short, to “tell a story of institutional weakness.”
Read MoreCrime, armed conflict, and state in Colombia, Mexico and Guatemala.
Until recent years, crime in Colombia, Mexico, and Guatemala was a phenomenon confined almost exclusively to national environments. This has changed in recent years. Crime is a phenomenon that has acquired increasingly global connotations in the region. Despite the importance of this issue, there is very little comparative regional literature that explores this problem. This paper makes a preliminary contribution in this sense and, to this effect, tries to make a comparison of crime in Colombia, Mexico, and Guatemala without losing sight of its relation to the capacity of state institutions.
Read MoreDiatribe against the “great men”
Today, Colombians believe more in democracy than two years ago. For some it will be a surprise, for others just a platitude, but the fact that Uribe is no longer in power has a lot to do.
Read MoreFreedom, by Jonathan Franzen
Against a backdrop of how the United States has seen itself after 9-11, Jonathan Franzen portrays in his latest novel, Freedom, the private life of an american family. The American dream is not a dream, nor does it become a nightmare, it becomes a reality that nobody wanted and with which they have to live.
Read MoreReformulating drug policy: inescapable challenge for Colombia
Prohibition has failed and has caused enormous damage. There are practical, feasible and proven alternatives. But the international status quo will not change until a key player, like Colombia, gives the first step.
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