Price of the Land

slguy says on Feb 12, 2008, 12:53:

capitalism lives! how bout that?

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 12, 2008, 13:10:

Greed, betrayal and dishonor are fueling it. This is not capitalism and free enterprise, this is a crime.

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

slguy says on Feb 12, 2008, 13:52:

selling land to people who will farm it, providing jobs, producing wealth, is a crime? Ok.

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

lampltr says on Feb 12, 2008, 14:07:

Can be two sides of the story that we do not know about as it is still early, but believe you both are correct. As stated in the news, many people are still displaced with no shelter, food supplies have almost been exhausted, re-supplies have not reached some areas so people are getting desperate and are heading back home even though they have been warned risking immediate death! Those displaced need something immediately not 6 to 9 months down the road, and only then will a select percentage benefit, am I looking at this wrong?

greg says on Feb 12, 2008, 15:29:

I agree with you Desi. This is bullshit.

SiV says on Feb 12, 2008, 17:03:

Did you even watch the video, slguy?

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Mahatma Gandhi

Alma del Norte says on Feb 12, 2008, 17:23:

"Did you even watch the video, slguy?"

He doesn't need to. It wasn't, mentioned in the "Miami Herald", and therefore it didn't happen. It`s amazing, no one can touch Uribe. He has the luck of the devil.

tejasmarcos says on Feb 12, 2008, 19:03:

i have been watching the biofuels movement for a while and heard something else like this about a year ago. so let me get this straight,

- the peasants and farmers were given the land in 2004, as a token for being displaced.

- in 2007, the land is being taken away due to re-analysis of the lands for palm oil productions - which by the way has seen its price dramatically increase in the last 2 years.

is that the jist of it. kinda like, oops we did not know that land was so valuable? now let us have it back?

god is in your head

island girl says on Feb 12, 2008, 20:36:

Yeah this looks really sad ... hurting and killing people and the environments and even if palm plantations end up turning a profit who will benefit? Im sure a very select few ... and very little of any profit made will probably stay in the communities in Choco or in Colombia full stop.

Papi de Alejo says on Feb 12, 2008, 20:59:

If you guys are really serious about this issue, may I refer you to Swinn88's posts. He more than anyone else has consistently posted articles and videos of the plight of the afrocolombianos. He has posted lots of interesting things yet most people either don't comment or are ignoring the postings.

PdA

Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 12, 2008, 21:00:

Slguy, did you watch the clip?
Did you read the article?
Isn't Uribe the president of ALL Colombians? Also of those who have been driven away from their lands by violence, greed, crime?
Or just of those who have land, money and power?

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

DodgerDogs says on Feb 12, 2008, 21:10:

COLOMBIA: Embezzling Health Funds as Children Starve
By Helda Martínez

BOGOTA, Apr 12 (IPS) - The arrest and investigation of officials accused of stealing public health funds in an impoverished Colombian region where a dozen children have died of malnutrition show to what extent corruption is an obstacle for the country's prospects of meeting poverty reduction targets.

"Those who steal health funds should be charged for homicide, as well as abuse of authority and embezzlement," Attorney General Mario Iguarán said Tuesday, reporting the arrest of an official accused of the theft of 911,000 dollars.

The funds formed part of the health budget in the northwestern province of Chocó, where 12 children died of hunger in March.

The arrested official is the treasurer of the town of Lloró. Arrest warrants have also been issued for the town's former treasurer, the former provincial treasurer, and a former mayor.

A total of 48 people are under investigation in the case. Among those who have been called in for questioning are the mayor of Quibdó, the capital of Chocó, and several judges, whose verdicts apparently let off the hook people accused of the same crime in the past.

The investigation was prompted by a Mar. 25 complaint by Ombudsman Vólmar Pérez, who said "the Afro-Colombian communities and indigenous peoples that live in the Domingodó River basin (in Chocó) are in the midst of a grave health emergency."

"In March, the deaths of 12 children and three adults were reported as a consequence of an acute process of dehydration, diarrhea and malnutrition," added Pérez.

This is only the latest incident of corruption in the province, whose governor, Julio Ibargüena, and 31 mayors are already under investigation in earlier cases, according to the Public Prosecutor's Office.

The case also proves negligence and neglect by the state, say non-governmental organisations like the Colombian chapter of Plan International, a British-based child-centred community development organisation.

"It appears clear that the deaths of the children were not a fluke, but were the result of a long process of neglect and marginalisation," said Graciela Butcher, director of Plan International Colombia.

"The humanitarian crisis is aggravated by drug trafficking, the armed conflict, forced displacement, the isolation of communities and the subsequent loss of basic securities: life and food," she said.

In Colombia's four-decade civil war, leftwing rebel groups are fighting government troops and far-right paramilitary militias, which have partially demobilised as a result of negotiations with the administration of Ã?lvaro Uribe.

Corruption and a lack of will on the part of local authorities are identified as the main catalysts of the food crisis, which in Chocó is a result of the absence of a coherent national public policy, said the Foodfirst Information & Action Network.

On Apr. 3, the director of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF), Elvira Forero, requested an inquiry into another alleged case of corruption, involving sales of a food supplement known as Bienestarina in Chocó.

For the past three decades, the ICBF has been distributing Bienestarina in the poorest parts of the country for free. The supplement is a mix of wheat and soy flour, powdered milk, vitamins and minerals that is consumed with sugar and water by children, pregnant and nursing mothers and the elderly.

For years, there have been complaints that the supplement is stolen and sold as a ration for feeding pigs.

The Bienestarina case "is a shameful reminder that in Colombia, in the 21st century, despite the announced improvement in poverty figures, millions of our fellow countrypeople eat worse than animals," stated a recent editorial in the newspaper El Tiempo.

Statistics released by the government in March indicate that the proportion of people living in poverty dropped from 56 percent in 2002 to 45 percent in 2006.

The secretary of economic development in Bogotá, economist Consuelo Corredor, said "There has been a major reduction in poverty, which is positive, but it is a good idea to analyse the reasons that possibly explain this drop."

"According to the Bogotá Cómo Vamos (Bogotá How Are We Doing?) programme -- which evaluates quality of life in the capital -- the poverty rate in this city has dropped 10 percent and the extreme poverty rate has fallen 4.6 percent, which favourably affected the national rates," Corredor told IPS.

Bogotá, a city of nearly seven million people, "has a diversified productive structure and concentrates more than one-quarter of the country's companies and exports. That means the city's indices modify the proportions in other regions of the country," she said.

Authorities in Bogotá have adopted specific strategies to provide assistance to the poor, such as the Bogotá sin Hambre (Hunger-Free Bogotá) programme, implemented in 2004 by leftwing Mayor Luis Eduardo Garzón.

In 22 schools in poor districts of the city, the programme serves 30,000 breakfasts, 26,000 lunches and 370,000 snacks a day, Monday through Friday.

In addition, 67,000 people -- mainly the elderly, pregnant and nursing women, and children who do not receive meals at school -- eat every day at 241 community soup kitchens that receive municipal funding.

But in Chocó and other conflict-ridden areas, such measures do not exist.

In Chocó, where the local population is mainly made up of indigenous and afro-Colombian people, life expectancy is 65 years for men and 71 for women, compared to the national rate of 70 and 76 years, respectively, according to a 2006 study published by the Ministry of Social Protection and the Pan-American Health Organisation.

The national maternal mortality rate is 79 deaths per 100,000 live births, but the rate climbs to 429 per 100,000 in Chocó. Infant mortality stands at 17 per 1000 live births in Chocó, compared to seven per 1000 in Colombia as a whole.

The figures from Chocó show that "Colombia is far from reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), because economic growth is not accompanied by a reduction in poverty," economist Ricardo Bonilla, at the public National University, told IPS.

The MDGs, adopted by the international community in 2000, include commitments to halve the proportion of people living in extreme poverty and hunger and to cut infant mortality by two-thirds and maternal mortality by three-quarters by 2015, from 1990 levels.

In Colombia, "45 percent of the wealth is concentrated in the hands of just 10 percent of the population," said Bonilla, who said he did not expect changes in the near future that would benefit the dispossessed.

Conservative Senator Iván Díaz, a member of the Senate Commission set up to monitor the situation in Chocó, also said there are no short-term solutions in sight, given the characteristics of the region and the absence of the state.

He told IPS that "transparent voting, the enforcement of democracy, and its transparent exercise are fundamental to achieving change in the region."

Seven ministers on the cabinet of rightwing President �lvaro Uribe have been summoned to appear before the Senate on Apr. 17, as part of the investigation of corruption in Chocó. (END/2007)

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.Martin Luther King:

SiV says on Feb 13, 2008, 06:11:

Yesterday's internet poll on El País, Cali's "quality" newspaper:

Would you support of a march against the violence generated by paramilitary groups?
Yes 57%
No 42% (don't know what happened to the other 1%, but that's what it said)

Now, if I remember rightly, the same poll but against the Farc, was something like 97% Yes (my vote included) and 3% No.

What I don't understand is that the paras comitted some of the most atrocious acts of torture and murder against some of the poorest groups in Colombian society: indigenous, afro-Colombians, campesinos, but are their violent acts not condemned in the same way as the Farc's. Opinions?

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Mahatma Gandhi

robi666 says on Feb 13, 2008, 06:59:

SiV, I posted in another thread about awareness and reasons, got some intelligent answers, got some stupid ones... you may want to contribute also in that.

"I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present."

Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 13, 2008, 10:41:

Papi de Alejo,
I think it's because Swinn is focusing on different Afro-Colombian issues and I don't see the displacement of peasants as a specifically black issue or a racial issue at all. It's the strong against the weak in a multiethnic society like Colombia, a typical class issue, where the haves rip off the have-not, steal their land and if they don't move away they are murdered by the paras working for the rich landowners and palm oil enterpreuners. I totally fail to see this as normal, healthy capitalism in action.

President Uribe's comment about selling the land to oil palm growers is arrogant and nonchalant: "why, it's better to make money on that land than give it to these displaced people who would only live in poverty and disorder". A president of any country has NO RIGHT to speak despectively about his fellow citizens, especially of those that have been displaced and driven from their farms by the ruling class (his peers) private vigilante armies. It's a disgrace.

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

juancegomez says on Feb 13, 2008, 15:43:

I clearly don't share the government's official position on this, sharing several of the concerns others have expressed above.

Even if it is argued, as it has been, that if the land is made profitable by the palm growers (or others) then the resulting money could be re-invested in the displaced, the issue of land reform is still large and important enough in itself. It deserves direct attention, and certain "changes" aren't for the best, to say the least, much less when they actually make things worse.

I do hope that, sooner rather than later, many of those displaced, including those which weren't displaced by paramilitaries but by other parties and/or for other reasons, receive better care and suffer from less aggressions, direct or indirect (including things like this). Perhaps that won't happen under the current administration (which has provided some care, yes, just not enough by any means), but it won't last forever.

Sr Tertius says on Feb 13, 2008, 16:11:

Yet, the victims of all these violence, 3 million by the latest count, the largest internally displaced population in the world, primarily displaced by paracos, don't receive half the attention of FARC victims.

I've shown this map before, but serves as a good reminder:

"When the finger points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger" (Chinese proverb)

juancegomez says on Feb 13, 2008, 16:28:

SrTertius:

"I've shown this map before, but serves as a good reminder:"

True...though the number in map, IIRC,while it may (or may not) be from the relevant UN entity, is likely based (either directly or just roughly) on the CODHES estimates, which go back about 20 years. There are certain problems (or limitations) with that concept/methodology, as a reading of the following CODHES text implies:

"Definir la dimensión del desplazamiento forzado es una prioridad para definir el universo de víctimas del conflicto armado interno para fines de verdad, justicia y reparación.

El Sistema de Información sobre Desplazamiento Forzado y Derechos Humanos SISDHES, que opera CODHES desde 1995 y que recoge la cifra de la Conferencia Episcopal de Colombia del período 1985-1994, indica que alrededor de 3.832.527 personas han sido desplazadas en los últimos 20 años (primero de enero de 1985 y el 30 de junio de 2006).

Es decir, persiste una falla estructural en el Estado por su incapacidad para garantizar los derechos civiles y políticos de cerca del 10% de su población que en las últimas dos décadas fue obligada a huir de sus sitios de vivienda o trabajo, falla que se prolonga en la negación de los derechos económicos, sociales y culturales de las personas en situación de desplazamiento, como lo ha dicho con claridad la Corte Constitucional.

Es posible que muchas de estas personas hayan superado su condición de desplazadas, estén fuera del país o hayan muerto en estos veinte años.

Pero las causas estructurales del desplazamiento siguen vigentes y la realidad social y humanitaria del desplazamiento emerge como un desafío al Estado Social de Derecho."

http://www.indepaz.org.co/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=31...

I definitely agree with them in terms of the mentioned structural flaw, not to mention the state's own failure to handle the situation.

But if CODHES is keeping count of how many people have been displaced over the last 20 years (regardless of whether they die, find stable housing/occupation or exit the country afterwards), then I think that's not really giving us an updated picture of how many people are currently, at this precise moment, among the displaced. So the "3 million or more" figure, while true in accumulated historical terms, may not be accurate right now.

This doesn't mean that the government's data is necessarily better. That's probably underestimating the size of the problem...but, just as well, CODHES probably overestimates it, at least to a certain degree.

"Yet, the victims of all these violence, 3 million by the latest count, the largest internally displaced population in the world, primarily displaced by paracos, don't receive half the attention of FARC victims."

In terms of media attention and (attempted, failed or successful) law enforcement, definitely.

But I'm not really sure I'd say that about all other kinds of attention, including actual care and assistance for the victims, not to mention reparations and other related rights.

aztec says on Feb 13, 2008, 16:34:

Sr Tertius, Incredible map. I can copy it to my PC but wondered if you have a url we could use.

I tell people here more people are displaced in Colombia than anywhere else but it doesn't register. This map would help.

Thanks

juancegomez says on Feb 13, 2008, 16:39:

aztec: If you go back and count back how many people have been displaced over ~20 years, which isn't equal to estimating how many of them are *currently* still displaced (as opposed to those who may have suffered very different fates over more than a decade), then yeah...the map shows that well enough and your conclusion applies.

If not...then it's a completely different business, and that conclusion is very much up to debate.

For me, a (more) useful map should try to reflect a current situation, not an accumulated historical figure which may not be directly applicable right now (and which may not be of worth for a comparison with other countries, unless the same methodology is being applied for all).

Sr Tertius says on Feb 13, 2008, 16:44:

Very good points Juance. The count of displaced people is a very contentious issue, but the lowest of the lowest count, DANE's, there are about 800.000 displaced in Colombia--and CODHES criticizes that number, saying that just the government registry counts more than double that. Either way, that's at least a medium size city in itself. For my estimate I take a rough average of CODHES (almost 4 million) and the government (about 2 million), which is 3 million.

All crimes deserve attention (media and otherwise) but our priorities should be on those with highest impact on the general population. Internal displacement should be #1.

"When the finger points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger" (Chinese proverb)

podborski says on Feb 13, 2008, 17:00:

my connection is too slow to see the video desi, and I am no fan of corrupt governments, I'm sure a lot of horrible stuff is happening.

MY POV is that government's are the corrupt ones, the ones that abuse power, that sell or give land that never really belonged to them in the first place.

What I don't get is the people who criticise this then turn around and argue for collectivist (centralised authority) political/economical systems that just give these same people absolute power and ownership over everything. How does that make any sense?

At least if the land finally gets into the hands of some private person, however bad/unjust that process is, it's still better than hving corrupt governments continue using/abusing it to enrich themselves.

Lucas Freley says on Feb 13, 2008, 18:20:

Sr. Tertius, gracias por publicar el mapa. Ayuda y mucho para que la comunidad internacional, es decir todos los que no somos colombianos, entendamos un poco mas la gravedad del tema que esta viviendo Colombia. Yo sabia que Colombia andaba cerca de paises como Uganda, Sudan o el Congo, en la cantidad de desplazados, donde realmente la situación es alarmante por las guerras constantes y pestes que asolan esos paises, pero jamas pense que los superaria. Es increible que en Colombia haya mas desplazados que en paises como el Timor Oriental o Somalia donde reinan la anarquia y el descontrol.

Yo creo que lamentablemente, la mayoria de la gente, me refiero al mundo en general, desconocemos la situacion que ocurre en Colombia. Incluso dudo mucho que la mayoria de los colombianos esten al tanto de lo que ocurre realmente en su pais.

Cuando se habla de desplazados...la gente en general, piensa que ese termino se utiliza para desplazados por catastofres naturales o geograficas (terremotos,huracanes, tsunamis) como tambien para aquellas personas que son corridas de su lugar por grupos subversivos o guerrilla. Me parece muy bien que remarquen este tema, porque sino, la media general, no llega a captar de que se trata. No es lo mismo lo que ocurrió con los deplazados por el Tsunami que por guerrillas. Ambos sufren, pero por causas muy distintas.

Lo mismo sucede con las Farc, Elenos, Auc y demas Paras. Esta bien, tecnicamente tal vez tengan ideales distintos, o los motivos por los que se crearon cada grupo hayan sido ideologicamente muy diferentes. Sin embargo, viendolo de afuera, que mas da que sean una cosa o la otra. Todos estan en el mismo negocio de la sustancia blanca, todos secuestran, matan, desplazan gente. Todos tienen control de zonas, regiones, ciudades o pueblos de Colombia. Juridicamente, atentan contra el Estado de Derecho. "Divide y reinaras". Es evidente que a alguien le conviene que existan grupos diseminados, y que el foco igneo no sea uno solo, ya que de esa manera es casi imposible desairragar a todos estos insurgentes.

Espero que sigan con las marchas, alertando al mundo de lo que pasa en Colombia. Es la unica manera de que todos pongamos nuestros ojos sobre su pais. Otros de los paises que figuran en el mapa, como el Timor, o los paises africanos lamentablemente no tienen esa suerte...

Hoy que estás esplendida y que todo lo iluminas, demos un paseo, vuelta por el Universo (Gustavo Cerati)

Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 15, 2008, 00:31:

I'm still waiting for an answer from sailguy.
Did you watch the video?
Did you read the article?
Would it make you happy if this "capitalism lives" was happening in your country? Perhaps in central Florida?

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Sr Tertius says on Feb 15, 2008, 15:17:

Lamentablemente Lucas, entre la gente interesada en el conflicto, yo creo que los colombianos están peor informados que la gente de afuera. Yo entro y salgo de Colombia a cada rato, y me aterra ver como el problema del paramilitarismo se minimiza dentro de Colombia, mientras que los reportes fuera del pais dan la impresion (correcta, por cierto) de que algo espantoso ocurrió y, más importante aun, sigue ocurriendo. Yo creo que de ahí viene la desesperación de los colombianos que creen que las FARC son el único o al menos el principal problema: cuando el resto del mundo señala los problemas tan graves con el paramilitarismo, esto es malinterpretado como "apoyo" a las FARC.

Ahora lo que me asusta es que hay gente argumentando que la marcha del 6 hay que evitarla porque hay una crítica explícita a los crímenes de Estado, de los cuales no hay duda, pero el argumento asume que Estado = sociedad civil, y que por eso es absurdo marchar para autocriticarse. Esa identidad es la definición del facismo, y es verdaderamente escalofriante.

Desi: I think we need to update the "pro-FARC vs. pro-para" scoreboard.

"When the finger points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger" (Chinese proverb)

Sr Tertius says on Feb 15, 2008, 15:29:

Aztec: I can't find the map (I copied it from an early post), but I found the numbers and their sources, which is probably more useful:

http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004CE90B/(httpPages)/22FB1D4E2B196DAA802570BB005E787C?OpenDocument&count=1000

"When the finger points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger" (Chinese proverb)

juancegomez says on Feb 15, 2008, 18:52:

SrTertius:

"Ahora lo que me asusta es que hay gente argumentando que la marcha del 6 hay que evitarla porque hay una crítica explícita a los crímenes de Estado, de los cuales no hay duda, pero el argumento asume que Estado = sociedad civil, y que por eso es absurdo marchar para autocriticarse. Esa identidad es la definición del facismo, y es verdaderamente escalofriante."

Sin llegar a plantear esa ecuación, que independientemente de su fascismo no deja de ser una situación nociva.... el caso es que la actual administración no es muy autocrítica que digamos, para no hablar de su tolerancia frente a la crítica en sí...lo cual, a su vez, hace parte de una retroalimentación que deteriora la calidad de los argumentos de cada lado y, desafortunadamente, aumenta la polarización.

Si no estás contra el Estado colombiano (actual o en general), estás con él...y si no estás con él, estás en su contra.

slguy says on Feb 16, 2008, 06:23:

Des,

I promised you a comment last night, but I got sidetracked. I need to learn more about this subject.

I have learned enough to say this. I apologize for my glib and flip initial comment. Completely uncalled for, and the truth is, I'm embarrassed. But- I can't promise to change my view, only that the subject is not a simple as I first thought. ;)

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 16, 2008, 06:50:

Thanx, slguy, that's way more than I expected as an answer. That you'd try to find out more about the issue is plenty of a promise.
Cheers,
Desi

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Sr Tertius says on Feb 16, 2008, 08:46:

Juance: A mí lo que me preocupa no es tanto la falta de autocrítica del gobierno, sino la identidad que algunos hacen entre gobierno y nación. Porque dizque criticar a Uribe es criticar a Colombia. Protestar contra los crímenes de Estado es faltarle al patriotismo. Eso es lo que a mí me parece asustador.

"When the finger points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger" (Chinese proverb)

Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 16, 2008, 08:57:

Es exactamente la misma táctica utilizada por la derecha norteamericana: criticar a Bush es criticar a USA, criticar la guerra de Iraq, por ejemplo, es falta de patriotismo. Es el argumento mas antiguo del mundo usado por los lideres autoritarios y antidemocraticos sea donde sea en el mundo. Estos señores (Uribe es un buen ejemplo) se identifican con la nación y y con el poder absoluto que se creen tener. Es un escenario espeluznante.

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

vladimiro says on Feb 16, 2008, 14:51:

It would be interesting to learn what effect the influx of displaced Colombians into the major cities eventually could have on politics. They are coming in such large numbers (and I believe at increasingly larger rates under Uribe) that they must be changing the make up of society.

juancegomez says on Feb 18, 2008, 14:20:

SrTertius: Es que precisamente, yo creo que ambos aspectos están relacionados, a la larga.

Si se admite la autocrítica y/o el respeto hacia las críticas ajenas, por más "identidad" que haya entre el gobierno, el presidente y la nación...se puede llegar a tolerar o, inclusive, reconocer el debate como algo generalmente positivo e inclusive constructivo a mediano o largo plazo, así pueda causar molestias, dolor o inclusive simple rabia mientras tanto.

Si se cree que cualquier crítica a Uribe puede hacerle daño al país y mostrar falta de patriotismo, es porque se considera a la crítica en sí como algo intolerable, inadmisible y perjudicial...cuando ese no es necesariamente el caso, sea a nivel personal, social o gubernamental.

Esa identificación entre el líder y la nación me parece que es una de las posibles lógicas detrás de la intolerancia hacia la crítica como tal...pero, curiosamente, hasta se podría querer a Uribe y al mismo tiempo criticarlo, así sea esperando (inútilmente, quizás) que mejore, como hacen algunos Uribistas que no caen en ese juego del supuesto patriotismo y demás.

gatogris says on Feb 18, 2008, 15:12:

Class cruelty such as this, a suppurating wound in Colombia since its nascence as a nation, here openly sanctioned by the most powerful patron in the land, can be seen as nothing else but a continued source of the agony that the body politic drags around with them. It is this sort of perverse rhetoric and lack of empathy for 'his' people that places Uribe squarely within an ancient regional tradition of systemic abuse that has at least partially given rise to the mess he finds himself in.

He should be careful: it is exactly this sort of behaviour that can end up obscuring some of the real gains he has presided over for others of the poor and helpless. People tend not to forget it.

ColombianoGringo says on Feb 18, 2008, 15:14:

Some folks around here really have a lot to learn about how the OLIGARCHY in Colombia operates.