d) Colombia: Extreme Negative Case Study

The vital role of Roman Catholicism in establishing the social, political, institutional, and religious status quo in Colombia is plainly evident and well-documented. Since the Middle Ages, no other country has enforced such a complete integration of church and state (ideal medieval Christendom), as reflected in Colombia’s Concordat. In Colombia, liberal attempts failed repeatedly and resulted in violent conflicts in which the Roman Catholic Church-State closed ranks with conservatives and imposed a corporatist medieval-like state. The largely successful project pursued by the Roman Church-State in Colombia (so-called Christilandia) consists of three pillars: (1) political (a confessional state); (2) economic (a corporatist state); and (3) cultural (a Catholic and conservative “Hispanicism”).In the 1991 Constitution, Protestantism allied itself with liberal forces. This alliance made it possible to finally introduce religious freedom, among others, by removing most of the contentious articles from the Concordat (nevertheless, the Concordat remains valid, as does institutional corporatism). In spite of these reforms, the Colombian government is still required to pay a fee to the Roman See. Religious instruction in public schools according to the Roman Church Magisterium for Catholics also remains firmly in place. Colombia remains one of the most inequitable and dangerous countries in the world.

Forecasting model with machine learning in higher education ICFES exams

<span>In this paper, we proposed to make different forecasting models in the University education through the algorithms K-means, K-closest neighbor, neural network, and naïve Bayes, which apply to specific exams of engineering, licensed and scientific mathematical thinking in Saber Pro of Colombia. ICFES Saber Pro is an exam required for the degree of all students who carry out undergraduate programs in higher education. The Colombian government regulated this exam in 2009 in the decree 3963 intending to verify the development of competencies, knowledge level, and quality of the programs and institutions. The objective is to use data to convert into information, search patterns, and select the best variables and harness the potential of data (average 650.000 data per semester). The study has found that the combination of features was: women have greater participation (68%) in Mathematics, Engineering, and Teaching careers, the urban area continues to be the preferred place to apply for higher studies (94%), Internet use increased by 50% in the last year, the support of the family nucleus is still relevant for the support in the formation of the children.</span>

The role of institutional quality in the international trade of a Latin American country: evidence from Colombian export performance

This paper analyses the relevance of Colombian institutional quality in recent years in terms of the performance of its exports within a framework of trade openness. Based on the trade gravity model, we examine the effect of governance on the evolution of Colombian exports through an econometric approach that identifies, on the one hand, the influence of institutional quality, and on the other hand, the influence of the institutional distance between Colombia and its trading partners. We use a panel data set for 2005–2018, through which the export flows from Colombia to 136 of its trading partners are considered. The findings indicate that Colombian institutional quality and the institutional distance between the country and its partners are statistically significant and affect its foreign sales. Similarly, there is a prominent influence of regulatory quality and the rule of law variables in the performance of Colombian exports in relation to other variables included in the model. We conclude that the Colombian government must improve its institutional quality considerably as a fundamental step towards boosting its overseas sales, not least because the country’s institutional distance from the world average is notable, which also affects its exports.

A Framework for Unity

Colombia’s civil war, the longest war in modern history, finds itself at an inflection point in which either peace can slowly be attained or war can consume the country again. This article lays out a plan for a peace deal between the Colombian government and the agrarian Marxist ELN, taking the 2015 peace deal between the government and the leftist FARC as a point of reference. Despite a conservative administration that is hostile to peace currently in power, there are several tangible opportunities that make the next few months ripe for peace. The election of Joe Biden, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the growing unpopularity of the conservative approach to war can all facilitate the ELN coming to the negotiation table. This article lays out an ELN peace deal focused on agrarianism, inclusiveness, illegal drugs, and victims’ rights, and concludes with short-, mid-, and long-term goals to achieve peace.

El difícil camino de la paz. Avatares de la implementación de los acuerdos Farc-Ep y gobierno colombiano en Icononzo (Tolima)

Resumen: Con la firma del Acuerdo Final para la Terminación del Conflicto y la Construcción de una Paz Estable y Duradera entre el Gobierno colombiano y la guerrilla de las FARC-EP, en noviembre de 2016, se establecieron una serie de acuerdos sobre diferentes puntos, entre ellos el establecimiento de unas zonas de concentración en varias regiones del país, en las cuales los excombatientes harían su tránsito a la vida civil. Para entender las dinámicas de lo sucedido en este importante proceso, se analiza el caso del espacio territorial de capacitación y reincorporación (ETCR) Antonio Nariño, en Icononzo (Tolima), el más cercano a Bogotá. Luego de un trabajo de campo de dos años, en el que se realizaron entrevistas con los habitantes de la región de Sumapaz, lo mismo que con quienes están alrededor del proceso, se plantea una perspectiva de análisis de corte etnográfico sobre el tema. Esto como paradigma de lo sucedido en el país, concretamente en el Sumapaz, una región en la cual tanto la guerra como la paz se han vivido desde hace más de setenta años, buscando aportar a la comprensión del conflicto armado interno en Colombia. The Difficult Course to Peace. Avatars of the Implementation of the Farc - Colombian Government Peace Accords in Icononzo (Tolima) Abstract: With the signing of the Peace Accords between the Colombian government and the Farc-Ep guerrilla in 2016, concentration zones were established in various regions of the country, in which ex-combatants would make their transition to civilian life. To understand the dynamics of what happened in this important process, the case of the ETCR Antonio Nariño in Icononzo (Tolima), the closest to Bogotá, is analyzed. As part of a two-year fieldwork, in which I conducted multiple interviews with the habitants of the Sumapaz region, as well as with those around the process, I propose a ethnographical analysis to this question. Such approach is proposed as a case study to understand the challenges provoked with the implementation of the peace accords in Colombia. In so doing, this chapter seeks to contribute to the understanding the internal armed conflict in this country while contextualizing such analysis in a region in which both war and peace have been lived for more than seventy years. Keywords: Colombia, Peace Accords, Internal Armed Conflict, Government-Farc, Sumapaz.

Aproximaciones al derecho a la verdad en la justicia transicional, en Colombia

Resumen: La configuración de la verdad como el derecho a “saber qué ocurrió”, es uno de los pilares fundamentales del sistema de justicia transicional implementado tras la firma del Acuerdo Final de Paz entre el Gobierno colombiano y las FARC-EP. En la verdad se ha depositado parte im- portante de la esperanza por la construcción de una paz estable y duradera, y de la reconciliación en el país. En el presente artículo se sostiene que el derecho a la verdad en el funcionamiento del Sistema Integral de Verdad, Justicia, Reparación y No Repetición (sIvJRnR) se experimenta como una construcción ética, jurídica, política y fáctica, que se desarrolla en el marco de un proceso relacional, multidireccional y polifónico, que va cambiando, modificándose y perfeccionándose en el tiempo, y puede pasar, según las necesidades y problemas a resolver, de tener un carácter puramente instrumental y racional, a uno ampliamente axiológico y moral. Para ello, se presenta una propuesta de operacionalización de esta verdad en respuesta a interrogantes sobre su com- prensión: ¿Qué? ¿Cómo? ¿Para qué? ¿Cuándo? y ¿Quién? Approaches to the Right to Truth in Transitional Justice in Colombia Abstract: The truth’s configuration as the right to “know what happened” has become one of the fundamental pillars of the transitional justice system implemented after signing the Final Peace Agreement between the Colombian Government and the FARC-EP. Thus, in truth, lays the hope for building a stable and lasting peace and reconciliation in the country. This article sustains that the right to the truth in the operation of the Comprehensive System of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-Repetition (sIvJRnR) is experienced as an ethical, legal, political and factual construction that is developed within the framework of a relational, multidirectional and polyphonic process. This construction is changing, modifying and improving through time and can go, depending on the needs and problems to be solved, from having a purely instrumental and rational character to a broadly axiological and moral one. To this end, a proposal for operationalisation of this truth is presented in response to questions about its understanding: What? How? Why? When? and Who? Keywords: Truth, Transitional Justice, Final Agreement, SIVJRNR

Coastal subsidence increases vulnerability to sea level rise over twenty first century in Cartagena, Caribbean Colombia

Cartagena is subsiding at a higher rate compared to that of global climate-driven sea level rise. We investigate the relative sea level rise (RSLR) and the influence of vertical land movements in Cartagena through the integration of different datasets, including tide gauge records, GPS geodetic subsidence data, and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) observations of vertical motions. Results reveal a long-term rate (> 60 years) of RSLR of 5.98 ± 0.01 mm/yr. The last two decades exhibited an even greater rate of RSLR of 7.02 ± 0.06 mm/yr. GPS subsidence rates range between − 5.71 ± 2.18 and − 2.85 ± 0.84 mm/yr. InSAR data for the 2014–2020 period show cumulative subsidence rates of up to 72.3 mm. We find that geologically induced vertical motions represent 41% of the observed changes in RSLR and that subsidence poses a major threat to Cartagena’s preservation. The geodetic subsidence rates found would imply a further additional RSLR of 83 mm by 2050 and 225 mm by 2100. The Colombian government should plan for the future and serve as an example to similar cities across the Caribbean.

Arhuaco indigenous women’s memories and the Colombian Truth Commission: methodological gaps and political tensions

The Truth, Peaceful Coexistence, and Non-Repetition Commission (CEV) is one of the transitional justice mechanisms contained in the peace agreement signed between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla in 2016. The CEV mainstreams gender and ethnic differential approaches and is also the first to actively deploy intersectionality as a framework to approach violence committed against women of ethnic groups. The article draws on a decolonial and intercultural perspective to analyze the challenges that the CEV faces to make visible Indigenous women’s experiences and agencies during the armed conflict. Based on participatory research conducted with Arhuaco women of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to produce a report to the CEV, the article shows the methodological gaps that exist between Arhuaco women’s approaches to memory and the Truth Commission’s methodological framework. The article also argues that the Commission’s strategy to confront political dynamics within Indigenous communities that marginalize women’s processes further deepens these gaps and contributes to invisibilize their voices in this scenario.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and Its Aftermath

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia—FARC) was an insurgent group that emerged in the 1960s as a consequence of struggles between the Conservatives and the Liberals, as well as the consolidation of a Communist party that promoted an armed insurrection. A relative absence of state institutions in farther regions, the uneven distribution of land, and an impoverished peasant class were elements fueling rebellious movements. By the 1980s, however, FARC had become something more complex than an insurgent organization. After initially opposing the idea, the group accepted the generation of income through the taxation of activities in the cocaine-illicit economy. An unprecedented process of growth experienced by the insurgency, with this income, allowed a remarkable offensive against the security forces, in specific regions, by the end of the 1990s. Since then, an explanation of the organization as a “pure” political insurgency would be inaccurate; the motivation and purpose of some fighters within the group was profit. Although an explanation radically separating political and criminal (economic) agendas may be flawed, at least a concept which portrays the organization as something more than just an insurgency seems helpful. The concept of hybrid group, in which armed, political, and criminal dimensions coexist, invites exploring different types of motivations, purposes, and tasks that fighters might have. The observation of these dimensions also contributes to an understanding of the evolution of FARC after the Havana Agreement. A strong military offensive during the 2000s was one of the factors motivating the group to engage in peace negotiations with the Colombian government. With the Agreement, FARC as an armed insurgency ceased to exist, but the continuation of factors which motivated the existence of a hybrid group have triggered the emergence of a myriad of smaller groups, several of which claim to be the real successors of FARC, mixing in diverse ways the political and criminal agendas.

Fracking and glyphosate amid COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia

Despite the congratulations that Colombia received from the Pan American Health Organization for its good management during the first months of pandemic (1), supposedly for using scientific evidence for decision-making, the start of the fracking pilots (unconventional hydraulic fracturing procedure) and return to use glyphosate against illicit crops leaves glimpse inconsistencies in decision-making in public health by the Colombian government. The pandemic taught that environmental protection is essential to avoid the emergence of future epidemics (2). However, it is precisely in the midst of the pandemic that the Colombian government makes decisions without listening to science, ignoring the precautionary principle even against the national constitution. As of the end of March 2021, two unconventional reservoir fracking pilot projects had been approved for development without a rigorous assessment of the potentially associated adverse health effects (3). These will be carried out in the department of Santander, the most seismically active department in Colombia (4). On the other hand, the government is making the return of glyphosate a reality, as previously mentioned (5). The Decree 380 (April 12, 2021) regulates spraying with glyphosate, leaving only the National Narcotics Council to endorse the decision. This Decree was even signed by the current Minister of Health, Fernando Ruiz, who was Vice Minister of Health in 2015 and publicly endorsed then to ban the use of glyphosate because of its potential carcinogenic effects, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). This change in the government´s decision is not explained on scientific grounds, as the evidence supporting the adverse effects of glyphosate on health remains even more conclusive now (6). These two political decisions are added to others that aggravate the armed internal conflict in Colombia, precisely when next year there will be presidential elections. Anti-science in environmental health increases its power in Colombia, following the trend of Latin American countries with denialist governments such as Brazil. The territories and populations directly affected by these decisions are the most socioeconomically disadvantaged in the country. Perhaps for this reason it is not surprising that the Colombian scientific evidence shows that the policies implemented in the management of the pandemic have not succeeded in reducing social inequalities (7), but have probably widened them, and that public health surveillance has been limited, with achievements only in some regions (8).