BOGOTA L IF T ING T HE C L OUDS
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It’s within easy reach of all the countries of the Americas: five hours from Atlanta, and 6.5 hours from Buenos Aires. It’s the only South American nation with Pacific and Caribbean coasts. It has several well-preserved colonial cities, the three Andean ranges, the Amazon river as well as Magdale – the region to the west of the river of the same name that was the inspiration and backdrop for Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s
...further densely forested Andean ranges
run north-south. Te roads, considered dangerous in the dark days of guerrilla warfare, are in a terrible state of repair. Business people and tourists fly, even for relatively short distances. Six years ago, President Santos
inaugurated the US$70 billion Vias 4G infrastructure programme. Latin America’s largest road-building scheme, it involves 47 projects spanning 8,000km of roads and 3,500km of four-lane highways as well as expansion of ports and railways, all to be completed by the end of the decade. Duque has signalled his support for the
4G programme, progress of which was delayed by Brazil’s Odebrecht scandal. If he keeps his word and speeds up the implementation, and oil prices stabilise and private sector demand increases, growth – according to the World Bank – is expected to strengthen gradually over the 2018-2020 period, accelerating to 2.7 percent this year, and 3.6 per cent by 2020. Juan Guillermo Moncada of the
Instituto de Ciencia Politica (ICP) believes megaprojects could play a key role in Colombia’s future prospects. “4G will reduce transportation and connectivity costs, and probably make Colombia a more attractive investment destination. “Tere are other big projects in line,
including seven new airports, a new port in the Uraba Gulf and various fluvial ports along the Magdalena River that will improve its navigability.” Tourism is, arguably, less an indicator
of economic health than of good PR. But Colombia has some desirable USPs.
bus ine s s tr a v el ler .c om
magic realism. It’s also one of the world’s 17 “megadiverse” countries, according to Conservation International, and is a favourite for intrepid birdwatchers.
INVISIBLE EXPORTS ProColombia – the government body that promotes invisible exports – claims that, between 2010 and 2017, visitor numbers increased by 13.5 per cent, almost three times the global average. International flights have grown accordingly, with Colombian flag-carrier Avianca – Latin America’s second biggest airline by fleet size and revenue – leading the way. A recent tourism campaign assured visitors, “Te only risk is you’ll want to stay”. But it’s not all a bed of hand-picked exportable roses.
candidates polled less than 1 per cent. Colombia’s second-largest leſt-wing guerrilla force, the ELN (National Liberation Army), is still officially active. In June 2017, three people died when a bomb exploded in a shopping centre in Bogota’s Zona Rosa; a fringe group called the People’s Revolutionary Movement (MRP) was held responsible.
“In the capital, I was seduced by the sophistication of the Bogotanos, the energy of its workforce”
NATURAL DISASTERS Floods, landslides, earthquakes and other natural disasters routinely blight Colombia; infrastructure problems are by no means limited to the roads, and the poor always suffer disproportionately. It remains to be seen if Duque will balance advancing the economy with tackling long-standing challenges such as income inequality and economic efficiency. Ten there is the
Venezuela problem. According to the Red Cross, more than one million refugees have arrived since 2017; while declaring solidarity with the needy, Santos put more troops at the border to deter them. If anything, Duque is likely to
tighten immigration controls. By any standards, these are
massive challenges. But consider Colombia’s point of departure. In the late Eighties, if Bogota wasn’t the global media’s “most dangerous city
COCAINE ECONOMY US government observers claimed Colombia’s coca cultivation had increased 11 per cent to 209,000 hectares (516,450 acres) in 2017, and potential cocaine output rose 19 per cent to 921 metric tons in the same year. In June, president Santos authorised the use of low-flying drones spraying controversial herbicide glyphosate – linked by the World Health Organisation to cancer. Meanwhile, Duque’s past links with
right-wing paramilitaries has raised questions about the future of the current detente. In the March elections, FARC
on earth”, then Medellin was, or else Cali. Over the past decade I’ve been to Bogota five times, and once each to the infamous “cartel” cities. In the capital, I was seduced by the sophistication of the Bogotanos, the bicycle-only Sundays, the energy of its young workforce. In Medellin – drug lord Escobar’s old fiefdom – it was the public art, eco-minded civic spaces and new cable-car network. In Cali, it was the petrol-grade firewater and the scintillating salsa dancing – which is everywhere, and always was, even when times were really tough. You’ve got to admire Colombia, but
to really know its people you also have to enjoy yourself. If you go there on business, set aside time for pleasure – because there’s heaps of it on offer. BT
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