At the diplomatic lunch the story of a rather cruel, violent country and at the same time famous for El Dorado or the golden road: the Republic of Colombia.
I would like to start with the official name of Colombia, which, among other things, derives from the surname of the explorer Christopher Columbus, which we will talk about in more detail in the dessert. But it is interesting to note that the name of the kaalst is pronounced “Col-o-mbia” in English, not “Col-u-mbia”, a common mistake among non-Spaniards. In Latvian, however, these nuances will not be felt.
Pop music connoisseurs will know right away that Colombia is also the birthplace of Shakira. And indeed, Colombia is already one of the most recognizable countries in the world. Despite its violent title, it is often recognized as one of the happiest countries in the world. Thus, in fact, in 2013 and 2014, Colombia claimed the title of “happiest country in the world”. According to the Happiness and Hope Barometer survey we talked about last season when we covered Norway, Colombia always tops the list.
Another fascinating but underestimated fact is that Colombia is the second most biodiverse country in the world after Brazil and is one of only 17 “megadiverse” countries. It has the largest number of species per area in the world, including more bird species from all of Europe and North America combined. This means that around one in 10 species on earth can be found in Colombia, but the country has deserts, rainforests, and wide-open savannas at the same time, allowing nearly all types of living creatures to thrive.
For many listeners, especially fans of the Netflix series Narcos, Colombia will know many things and facts. Pablo Escobar, for example. The current country is relatively far from the dramatized version of Colombia in the 1980s. However, some elements of the series remained. Therefore, we will talk more about how the country’s economy and politics are affected by the cocaine trade, continuing civil unrest and major tourism in the main dish.
When it comes to Colombia, it is also necessary to talk about its internal politics, which plays an important role in the existence of the country. But we should start a little with his story. Colombia is one of the three countries that emerged after the dissolution of Gran Colombia in 1830. (The other two are Ecuador and Venezuela).
After the creation of Colombia in the 1990s, decades of conflict between government forces, paramilitaries and anti-government rebel groups intensified in the country. They are largely financed by drug trafficking. The most famous of these groups is called the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. They have existed since the 1950s and traditionally have a Marxist-Leninist political breath. Anti-imperialism against the United States and the protection of peasant rights have been the cause of the popularity of their political initiatives.
In November 2016 alone, the Colombian government signed the definitive peace agreement with the FARC, whose members were estimated at around 10 thousand people. The agreement required FARC members to demobilize, disarm and reintegrate into society and politics. The agreement also committed the Colombian government to creating three new institutions to create a comprehensive framework for a true just state, including a special unit to coordinate the search for missing persons during hostilities.
Despite decades of internal conflict and drug-related security challenges, Colombia, a country of 49 million people, maintains relatively strong and independent democratic institutions characterized by peaceful and transparent elections and the protection of civil liberties.
Colombia’s economy, on the other hand, is Latin America’s fourth largest by gross domestic product. Colombia is also the fourth largest oil producer in Latin America and the fourth largest coal producer in the world, the third largest exporter of coffee and the second largest exporter of cut flowers. Colombia is the top emerald exporter in the world. Up to 90% of the world’s emeralds come from Colombia. And the Colombian emerald is highly respected in the gem world, precisely because of its deep bright green hue. Rival emeralds are found only in Zambia.
Oil is Colombia’s main export, accounting for over 45% of the total. And no wonder it is also the third largest exporter of coffee, Colombia is the largest producer of Arabica coffee beans in the world.
However, the country’s GDP per capita is two times lower than in Latvia and is around 17,000 euros in purchasing power parity, according to data from the World Bank.
Colombia also has the fastest growing information technology industry in the world and has the longest fiber optic Internet network in Latin America. Colombia also has one of the largest shipbuilding industries in the world outside of Asia. But Colombia’s main trading partners are the United States, China, the European Union and some Latin American countries.
However, we must not forget one of the main prohibited industries in Colombia: the cocaine trade. The country is also the world’s largest producer of cocaine. For a long time it ranks among the top three in the world, competing with Peru and Bolivia.
The Colombian government still confiscates about 80% of all cocaine produced each year. At the same time, about 100 tons enter the world markets. We asked Walter Kemp, director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, how the cocaine market in Colombia worked and how it ended up being traded.
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