Nation Briefing
Colombia is located in the northern region of South America bordering Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil. Colombia area is 1,138,910 km sq, which is slightly less than twice of texas. The capital of Colombia is Bogota. Juan Manuel Santos has been the president since August 7th 2010. Spanish is the official language of the country. The total population of Colombia is 45,745,783 people .
Current Status
According to the organization, Freedom House, in 2012 Colombia was considered partly free. Freedom House rates developing countries on a scale from 1 to 7 (1 represents the most free and 7 represents the least free) for three categories. Colombia's rating was Party Free. Their Freedom rating was a 3.5, for CIvil Liberties they received a 4 and lastly for political liberties the country received a 3.
Economically, Colombia is working towards a free economy. Their debt is relatively under control and multiple reforms have been put in place to strength their government. Even after the copious progress, the country continues to struggle with corruption and the judicial system seems to be easily influenced by political power.
Economically, Colombia is working towards a free economy. Their debt is relatively under control and multiple reforms have been put in place to strength their government. Even after the copious progress, the country continues to struggle with corruption and the judicial system seems to be easily influenced by political power.
Rating Explained
The reason why the people are only partly free is solely because the corrupt government. The government is working on reforming, but the structure is week. Political forces and wealthy companies can easily sway the government to pass laws in their favor. These laws negatively effects the Colombians and in the long run they are disenfranchised.
Stories From Colombia
These stories are from recent articles written about Colombia.
From the story Land and Loss in Colombia.
In La Guajira, Colombia families have been pushed out of their cattle ranches and plantations by wealth corporations. A select few families have been evicted from their farms and relocated outside the town. Corporations are replacing their farms with palm oil plantations, cattle ranches and mines. A victim of this mistreatment, Gustav Arvidisson, states that approximately 4 million people have been displaced by economical hardship. Over 120 families have been evicted from their land by Palm oil companies . These families had to ride an hour away by horse back and now rely on foreign aid to feed their families. The Colombian government has passed reforms to help the dislodged families. The reform give the former owners a document that states they own that property. This document is not rendered useful if the wealth companies are still occupying the land or near by. Arvidisson ends the interview by saying "People have papers, but many of them will be forced to sell the land anyway because they dare not return. Then everything gets validated.”
From the story In Colombia, Freedom Nears After 14 years Captivity
St Luis Alfonso Beltran has been held captive by rebel forces for 14 years. Beltran, now 43, and friend Arcia have been the longest held captives of the Leftist Revolutionary of Colombia ( also known as FARC). This group killed more than 60 soldiers on March 3, 1998 and took Beltran as a prisoner.
From the story Land and Loss in Colombia.
In La Guajira, Colombia families have been pushed out of their cattle ranches and plantations by wealth corporations. A select few families have been evicted from their farms and relocated outside the town. Corporations are replacing their farms with palm oil plantations, cattle ranches and mines. A victim of this mistreatment, Gustav Arvidisson, states that approximately 4 million people have been displaced by economical hardship. Over 120 families have been evicted from their land by Palm oil companies . These families had to ride an hour away by horse back and now rely on foreign aid to feed their families. The Colombian government has passed reforms to help the dislodged families. The reform give the former owners a document that states they own that property. This document is not rendered useful if the wealth companies are still occupying the land or near by. Arvidisson ends the interview by saying "People have papers, but many of them will be forced to sell the land anyway because they dare not return. Then everything gets validated.”
From the story In Colombia, Freedom Nears After 14 years Captivity
St Luis Alfonso Beltran has been held captive by rebel forces for 14 years. Beltran, now 43, and friend Arcia have been the longest held captives of the Leftist Revolutionary of Colombia ( also known as FARC). This group killed more than 60 soldiers on March 3, 1998 and took Beltran as a prisoner.