In Colombia we are parochial and self-absorbed. We need a way of dealing with our individual and social smallness, other than religion, maximalist ideology or contempt for others.

Given the inability of the national government to organize development in order to make mining compatible with the environment and other economies, popular consultations are a democratic step to try to do so.

The experiences of Uruguay, Costa Rica and Ecuador show that it is possible and useful to apply innovative approaches to drug-related incarceration. However, they also highlight the limits of these programs and their failure to prevent further criminal activity.

We live between the frenetic present of political activity and the unattainable future of preachers, without any of these time frames allowing us to anticipate the country that we will have in three or four decades.

Not all people who have been deprived of their liberty should have been in prison in the first place. In 2013, for example, the State Legal Defense Agency was handling 13,385 lawsuits for unjust deprivation of liberty.

The results of the plebiscite to approve the Peace Agreement showed us that it is time to take religion seriously and to dispute the right's political predominance in spiritual matters.

Despite the setbacks, the Transitional Justice System is already working. However, the sustainability of the process will depend on the decisions of the Constitutional Court and the proper processing of amnesties.

Latin American countries need to strengthen both their legislation and access to justice mechanisms, particularly those involving civil and consumer rights, in order to stop the use of asbestos and similarly harmful substances.

The university does not only have the task of preparing good professionals, but of forming honest citizens, and teachers are key in that mission. The book Academy and Citizenship explores the fulfillment of academic and citizenship standards by teachers in Antioquia.