Colombia's Social Issues

By Ricardo Segreda

Despite Colombia's wealth of natural resources, geographical position and advantageous climate, historical circumstances have bequeathed this Andean nation a malignant multitude of tragic social problems: high unemployment, a housing shortage, malnutrition and hunger, high rates of infant mortality and abandoned children, widespread poverty, pervasive alcoholism and drug abuse, widespread juvenile delinquency, high rates of crime and violence, human rights abuses, entrenched and violently polarized guerilla factions, and inadequate health and education services.

The roots of these problems can be traced back to the legacy of Spanish colonialism and imperialism, which even after Colombia's independence from Spain did not establish a political and social structure for the benefit of all of its citizens, but rather for only for the very limited, mostly Spanish-descendent class. The effect of such institutionalized inequality has proven to be disastrous for the overall quality-of-life for Colombia's citizens, including, ironically, its wealthiest, who have to live in fear of being kidnapped or murdered.

In the years following World War II, the situation was exacerbated by two major factors: the new market for cocaine, and the Cold War, which resulted in the United States and the Soviet Union subsidizing opposing and often violent ideological factions in Colombia, both of whom used the other as an excuse for committing atrocities on innocent civilians. Extremists on both the right and the left also accepted funding and arms from the highly lucrative cocaine trade, which had an investment in undermining any form of social order which interfered with its traffic.

Colombia's rural poor, in particular, have experienced the brunt of suffering, often being the target of extreme violence and having their territory appropriated and/or pillaged by wealthy landowners, and multinational interests – such as the Chiquita Banana corporation, which was exposed recently for subsidizing paramilitaries near their plantations, both for "protection" and to repress any attempts by Chiquita's low-paid workers to form unions.  Guerilla warfare, paramilitaries and the narcotics trade are additional factors resulting in the displacement of millions of refugees, who have fled to the overcrowded cities, or more frequently, left to other countries – Ecuador in particular -- in search of safety and better opportunities. Women compromise 55% of internal refugees, and are often at high risk of sexual violence and unwanted pregnancies.

The Colombian government's response to this crisis has been criticized as being inadequate. Its Ministry of Agriculture became the subject of heated criticism when 17,000 hectares of farm land originally designated for displaced rural citizenry was to be handed over to large business interests, a plan which eventually abandoned.

While 93% of Colombians over the age of 15 can read and write, education in the rural provinces is often inadequate, with poorly qualified and underpaid teachers offering only the basics of primary school education, with no vocational or higher education opportunities.

During the 1990's, Colombia led the world in kidnapping rates, and was almost as high in murder rates, particularly in its cities. However, even though violence and crime still exists, the last ten years, due in part to the decline in the power of drug cartels and the government's hardline stance, crime and violence have declined. Furthermore, in the last few years, Colombia's GDP growth has been constant, unemployment has not risen, and rates of poverty, including rates of extreme poverty, have dropped several percentage points – all of which has attracted increasing national and international investments.