In 2003, Colombia was a rapidly developing nation with a population of over 44 million people and a GDP of $163 billion. It had been making strides in terms of economic progress since the early 1990s, with its economy expanding at an average rate of 4.5% per year. The Colombian government had implemented several policies to promote growth, such as introducing free trade agreements with other countries and encouraging foreign investment.
According to computergees, the country was also making progress in terms of social development, having achieved universal primary education by 2000 and providing free health care services to citizens. Despite these advances, however, there were still some issues such as high levels of poverty and inequality that needed to be addressed.
The political landscape in 2003 was dominated by the Colombian Liberal Party (CLP), which had been in power since 1986. Although there were some democratic reforms implemented during this period, Colombia still faced persistent threats from drug cartels and guerrilla groups that threatened the stability of the country. Despite this, Colombia had made progress towards becoming an increasingly open society with greater access to information and more freedoms for its citizens.
Yearbook 2003
Colombia. According to Countryaah.com, Colombia Independence Day is July 20. The government had allocated $ 9 million for a re-alignment program for the country’s rebels, a total of about 30,000, promising amnesty, protection and financial support if they surrendered to the authorities. The first to come into question were the paramilitary militias, whose representatives on January 22 met government negotiators for the first time for secret deliberations.
In July, an agreement was signed under which paramilitary soldiers, about 13,000, will be demobilized in special security zones until 2005, of which over half are already in 2003. The first militia groups to disarm were assembled in the department of Urabá, where they had been formed in the 1980s. to fight the left guerrillas.
The disarmament of the militia groups is one of the left-wing guerrillas FARC’s old demands that they in turn lay down their weapons. However, the issue of extradition to the United States by Carlos Castaño, leader of the paramilitary groups’ umbrella organization, was not resolved, and human rights organizations objected to the generous conditions for the rebels.
In April, a decision was made to extradite FARC leader Nelson Vargas Rueda to the United States, where he will face trial for the murder of three US citizens in 1999. President Álvaro Uribe, elected for an uncompromising attitude to the country’s insurgents, stepped up the war against left guerrillas, and the violence did not decrease.
On February 7, 32 people were killed and 162 injured outside an exclusive club in Bogotá in the worst car bomb attack in ten years, according to the government conducted by the FARC. An American force failed with an attack on a FARC camp in the Urdu jungle in the Department of Antioquia where ten kidnapped people, including Antioquia’s governor and a former defense minister, were held hostage; everyone was killed. But Uribe’s line was still supported by a majority of voters.
At the so-called Rio Group meeting in Cuzco in Peru in May, Ecuadorian President Lucio Gutiérrez Borbúa accepted the UN mediation proposal in the Colombian conflict. However, both Uribe and FARC rejected the proposal.
On October 26, a referendum was held on an economic austerity program and political reform, which, however, was considered a failure for President Uribe. Only five out of fifteen points in the program were approved by voters. At the same time, municipal and regional elections were held, which became a great success for the left. In Bogotá, union leader Lucho Garzón was elected mayor, and in two departments (Nariño and Cauca) as well as the largest cities won the left.
In December 2012, Congress passed a law giving military courts control over human rights violations investigations. A move sharply criticized by international human rights organizations. It is now clearly the fox guarding geese in Colombia. The UN has found that impunity is a structural problem in Colombia.
In 2012, the country’s statistical office reported that 32.7% of the population lives below the poverty line, while 10.4% live in extreme poverty. In contrast, previous years’ economic growth had led to a drastic increase in the number of millionaires and billionaires. There are now 5 Colombians on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest men.
Despite peace talks, human rights violations remain unchanged. In 2012 alone, 40 human rights activists and local leaders were killed; 20 professional leaders were killed; more than 10,000 driven on the run and hundreds of civilians executed. In 2011, the EU signed a free trade agreement with Colombia, which entered into force in August 2013. In 2012, the United States provided 482 million euros. US $ in aid to the country’s military and police, followed by $ 473 million US $ the following year.
More than 70 human rights activists and over 27 union activists were killed by the military, police and death patrols during 2013. Hundreds of peasants and Indians were also killed, and an additional 220,000 escaped as internally driven.
Colombian police announced in May 2013 that its inventories had 3,866 active members of the right-wing death patrols, and they were active in 167 municipalities. In August, the Supreme Court ordered Luis Alfredo Ramos arrested for his cooperation with the death patrols. He chaired the Senate in 2002-03, governor of Antioquia in 2008-11 and otherwise planned to run for presidential election in 2014. During 2013, further investigations into the Uribe administration’s relations with the death patrols were initiated. In October, the Prosecutor’s Office identified Uribe’s security chief (during his time as president), police general Mauricio Santoyo as a suspect in the case. the disappearances of two human rights activists in 2000. In 2012, Santoyo had pleaded guilty before a federal court in the United States for his cooperation with the death patrols in 2001-08.
The country’s great author and Nobel laureate, Gabriel García Márquez, died April 17, 2014 in Mexico City. Mexico had been his second home country for many years, and that is also where he received the Nobel Prize in 1982. In Colombia, as a journalist and intellectual, he would have fallen victim to the death squads of the military or the right wing.
In June 2014, Santos was re-elected president with 51% of the votes in the second round of elections, against 45% for Óscar Iván Zuluaga. In the first round of elections, Santos had to settle for 25.7% of the vote, while Zuluaga got 29.3%. Voting was limited: 40% in the 1st round and 47.9% in the 2nd round. More than half of the voters stayed home. It was attributed to Santos’ peace process that he succeeded in reversing the trend from the 1st to the 2nd round and thus winning the election.
In December 2014, the death patrol Águilas Negras published a death list of 80 human rights activists in Bogota. The threats came after the release of similar death lists in October and September.
Republic of Colombia Brief Guide
According to AbbreviationFinder, Colombia is a state in South America. Its neighbors are, to the north, the Caribbean Sea, to the east, Venezuela, to the southeast, Brazil, to the south, Peru and Ecuador, and to the west, Panama, and the Pacific Ocean. Colombia has the largest population of the Andean states.
Food & beverage
Colombian food culture is as diverse as the country itself, varying greatly by region and season. Due to the diversity of its nature, there are many indigenous fruits in Colombia that are not found in native Finland and that you may not have heard of, such as Zapote, nispero, lulo, uchuwa, borojo, curuba and mamoncillo. The food culture is evolving at a rapid pace with Colombian chefs taking inspiration from old traditions and local ingredients. Breakfast and lunch tend to eat more, while dinner is less supportive.
Tamalet is a traditional Mesoamerican dish enjoyed with shared meals in the northern regions especially at Christmas and New Year. Inside the tamale is a dough made from corn that is steamed wrapped in banana leaves. Other typical dishes include Andean chicken soup ajiaco, bands paisa tray full of meat, beans, rice and eggs, as well as arepa, bread baked from cornmeal. In addition to arepas, you can come across a mazamorra made from corn, empanados and fresh fruit and fruit juices on the streets. The Caribbean beaches have delicious fish food, often served with coconut and rice.
A common soft drink is aguapanela, a non-alcoholic drink made from sugar cane and lime juice. Good, fresh fruit juices are available throughout Colombia. Chicha is a traditional Andean indigenous drink made by fermentation from corn or fruit. Of the alcoholic beverages, beer and rum are the most common and inexpensive. Colombians are very proud of their aguardiente liqueur, which is a popular drink in South America. In Colombia, it is made from sugar cane and aniseed.
Drinking tap water in Colombia is not recommended. Water and beverages must be industrially bottled. It is also a good idea to rinse fruits and vegetables with bottled water. Heated or tablet-purified water can be drunk. Reheated foods should be avoided. It is also possible that a different bacterial strain may cause stomach upset, we recommend eating lactic acid bacteria, for example.