Is Violence Against Union Members in Colombia Systematic and Targeted?

Violence against union members in Colombia has been at the center of a debate for several years now. Union leaders and NGOs in Colombia and abroad continuously argue that free trade agreements with Colombia should be blocked based on the failure of the current Colombian government to protect union members from targeted killings. We first look at the evolution over time of the indicators for violence against union members and union leaders. In particular we show (using different indicators and data sources) that violence against unionists in Colombia has steadily declined over the last seven years. Then, we use available panel data to study the determinants of violence against union members and union leaders. We make special emphasis on testing the claim that a greater intensity in the characteristic activities of unions leads to more violence against union members and union leaders. Using different data sets, data sources and estimation methods, we find no statistical evidence supporting this claim. These results suggest that, on average, violence against unionists in Colombia is neither systematic nor targeted.Violence, Targeted Killings, Unions, Union Activity

An evaluation of the Macarena Integral Consolidation Plan (PCIM)

This paper presents a description of the new strategy for the fight against drugs implemented in Colombia since the year 2007. The Strategic Leap Forward, as the Colombian government has called the program, or the Strategic Development Initiative, as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) calls it, is a step forward in the design of anti-drug policies that are more sustainable and effective in the mid-term. Currently, a pilot project is being implemented in the Macarena region, in the department of Meta (southeast of Bogotá), where coca crops and illicit activities were the norm just a few years ago. The Colombian State, partially financed by the United States governments and European countries, consolidates its presence in this region with the different instances and programs of the state apparatus to recover territorial control and combat the production of illicit drugs. But even more important is that this new approach in the fight against illegal drugs is based on a regional economic development plan, to avoid that peasants become involved in the first stages of cocaine production and trafficking process. The adequate functioning of this strategy can be a reference point to other countries that face similar problems of illicit drug production and conflict associated with these activities.Macarena, Consolidation Plan, Colombia, Anti-drug policies

Una evaluación del Plan de Consolidación Integral de la Macarena (PCIM)

Este artículo presenta una descripción de la nueva estrategia de la lucha contra las drogas implementada en Colombia desde el año 2007. El Salto Estratégico, como ha llamado el gobierno colombiano a este programa, o la Iniciativa de Desarrollo Estratégico, como lo llama USAID (la agencia del gobierno de Estados Unidos para la ayuda a los países en desarrollo) es un paso hacia adelante en el diseño de políticas anti-droga más sostenibles y efectivas en el mediano plazo. Actualmente, se está implementando un plan piloto en la Sierra de la Macarena, en el departamento del Meta (suroriente de Bogotá), donde los cultivos de coca y las actividades ilícitas eran la norma hace unos pocos años. El Estado colombiano, con financiación parcial de los gobiernos de Estados Unidos y países de Europa, consolida su presencia en la zona con las diferentes instancias y programas del aparato estatal para recuperar el control territorial y combatir la producción de drogas ilícitas. Pero más importante aun es que esta nueva aproximación de las políticas antidroga se ha fundamentado en un plan de desarrollo económico regional, para evitar que los campesinos se vinculen con actividades ilícitas asociadas a los primeros eslabones de la producción y tráfico de cocaína. El adecuado funcionamiento de esta estrategia puede ser un punto de referencia para otros países que enfrentan problemas de producción de drogas ilícitas y de conflicto asociado a estas actividades.Macarena, Plan de Consolidación, Colombia, Políticas antidroga.

Paisaje cultural llanero : compresión, valoración y rescate

El siguiente proyecto da cuenta del interés que se tiene por valorar y rescatar el paisaje cultural compuesto, tanto por el conjunto de expresiones culturales (materiales e inmateriales) como por los elementos naturales de un territorio y una comunidad determinada, partiendo del entendimiento, siguiendo con la divulgación para darlo a conocer y logrando la sensibilización que permita demostrar la importancia de su preservación. Al rescatar un paisaje cultural, se busca fortalecer la identidad de territorios, que se encuentran en riesgo de perder su memoria y patrimonio. Además, permite encarnar el valor simbólico que representa a cada territorio y a entender otras culturas y sus diferentes contextos. Como punto de partida, se hace necesario conocer y entender el tipo de paisaje cultural que se desea preservar. En este caso, se elige un territorio de gran relevancia y trayectoria histórica para nuestro país, pero con poco reconocimiento y apropiación de su población. Un territorio que logra transmitir con sus costumbres y tradiciones, la manera auténtica de vivir a través de una relación íntima con su contexto particular al punto de convertirlo en el eje principal de su actividad económica. Es así, como se llega a los Llanos Orientales de Colombia, zona en donde convergen una serie de expresiones culturales que demuestran la conformación de lo que se conoce como un paisaje cultural.The following project describes the interest in valuing and rescuing the cultural landscape, which is made up of both the set of cultural expressions (tangible and intangible) and the natural elements of a given territory and community, starting with understanding, continuing with dissemination to make it known and raising awareness to demonstrate the importance of its preservation. By rescuing a cultural landscape, the aim is to strengthen the identity of territories, which are at risk of losing their memory and heritage. Furthermore, it allows us to embody the symbolic value that represents each territory and to understand other cultures and their different contexts. As a starting point, it is necessary to know and understand the type of cultural landscape to be preserved. In this case, a territory of great relevance and historical trajectory is chosen for our country, but with little recognition and appropriation of its population. A territory that manages to transmit with its customs and traditions, the authentic way of living through an intimate relationship with its particular context to the point of turning it into the main axis of its economic activity. Thus, the Eastern Plains of Colombia are reached, an area where a series of cultural expressions converge and demonstrate the formation of what is known as a cultural landscape.Arquitecto (a)Pregrad

Sharp Weighted Estimates for Classical Operators [post-print]

See abstract at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000187081100313