Pereira and Kíos

Column La Tarde

Fundación Kíos

Pereira and Kíos

Almost two years ago La Tarde kindly provided this column to Kíos Foundation and from it we have tried to present our views on many issues, global, national and local. To do a summary about all these writings is an axiomatic impossibility, so we have decided to exclusively remember this day some of the approaches reflected on the challenges that Pereira and his surroundings must face and overcome through implementation of a leadership free of troglodytes’ dogmatisms manners and bad practices, but characterized for been dynamic, wise, innovative, and results oriented.

Without further ado, we present some of these reflections, hoping that as citizens we wonder whether there has been serious progress towards the consolidation of these ideas. At www.kiosdecolombia.blogspot.com you would find the complete collection of these notes.

"Pereira, then, must forward to topics such as: to guarantee users a system of selective waste management to extend the useful life of the infrastructure available through the promotion of a sustainable source separation culture and recycling, to promote recyclers’ social inclusion, granting the significant environmental contribution they make to the city, and finally, to increase civic engagement towards environmental care through new waste management tariffs witch include economic incentives to reward responsible households." (January 5, 2011)

"It is necessary to re-launch what is regional, and conceive it not only as an administrative exercise designed to create new instances of government, but as a means to achieve significant enhancements on dwellers welfare and human development by improving territories capabilities and conditions to harness and strengths their advantage and success factors." (April 27, 2011)

"International experience has shown that the formation of regional development poles parts from large agreements and economic consensus, political and social, around certain patterns of specialization or productive schemes, which reflect the existing assets." (June 1, 2011)

"Similarly, reviewing the local urban zoning might become a window of opportunity to strengthen regional integration dynamics with the municipalities that are part of the metropolitan area. There is not a single doubt that Pereira has a huge regional vocation, which may be enhanced as a condition for competitiveness and to promote local economic development through a better economic and productive activities allocation in space." (August 23, 2011)

“Combination of institutional efforts with allocation and responsible use of significant public resources to do enduring investments, the citizens belief that Pereira can become a center of sustainable development for the country and, above all, the recognition of the importance of rebuilding a culture of peace, focusing citizens’ potential towards educational and cultural efforts, will make of Pereira the pearl its citizens have always imagined." (September 25, 2012).

Mr. Netanyahu and International Affairs

Column La Tarde
Fundación Kíos


Mr. Netanyahu and International Affairs 

While addressing foreign affairs, analysts commonly make the mistake of sustaining their comments only on bases like international law or morality.

Obviously, these variables cannot be aliened or neglected at the moment to assess a situation, but to undertake a strategic analysis , objectively and rigorously, those premises, although they may be genuinely well-intentioned, in fact, lead to lose focus on the events being studied.

This situation can be seen in several of the analyzes that have emerged from the speech delivered last week by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the UN, which calls on the international community, especially the United States, to mark an impassable red line for the Iranian nuclear program, and if Iran does pass it, that behavior would provoke a direct and incontestable global response, i.e. an outright military action to eliminate completely the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear capability.

It is highly questionable the legal probity of Netanyahu's call. Likewise, it is not difficult to accuse this emplacement to the global community, as some of the State of Israel’s performances, old and recent, for being imperialist, abusive, bland and certainly immoral.

So, it is clear that under the perspective of the law and morality, the sole petition from who leads the Israeli government today is wrong and perverse. But the strategic analysis must consider, given greater significance to, variables such as geography and history. The latter, for example, allows us to clarify that when trying to foresee the future in international affairs, humanity in general is characterized by tremendous fail. Approaching the current problem between Israel and Iran, we ought to remember that in 1930, even after the economic crisis caused by the collapse of Wall Street, you couldn’t find a single analyst forecasting the rise in Germany of such a radical leader, to say the list, who would set as a goal for his country, not only to dominate Europe and the whole world, but to device a policy to annihilate an entire human category, among others, the Jewish people.

Perhaps Netanyahu seeks to implement a "holocaust in reverse" as some say. However, we believe the Israeli premier is a rational actor, like the ayatollahs in Tehran, that, due to the historical experience of his people and the geographical position of his country, is obligated to considered even the unthinkable, and that could be a regime in Iran, theocratic or not, irrational and willing to do anything to achieve its goals.

This is not a call for judgments of one side or another. It simply seeks to put in perspective the complexities embedded in international affairs. If those who observed and analyzed them choose to assume positions from simplistic platforms, actually, they would be doing a disservice to the understanding and resolution of conflicts that afflict humanity.

What we are lacking

Column La Tarde
Fundación Kíos

What we are lacking


Pereira is a privileged city, and it contains, in just one place, the strengths and weaknesses of a country like Colombia that struggles everyday getting better.


In this town, a extend variety of economic dynamics concurs to turn the city into an attractive region’s epicenter for domestic and foreign investments. Its agricultural past, which includes increasingly trade dynamics, is combined with traditional industry activities and a growing service sector, especially tourism. Geographically located in a strategic point where key development areas for the country merged, Pereira must assume, perhaps as preparation for the sesquicentennial festivities, the true role that their leaders have imagined for it.


We must invest, first, in infrastructure, not only to strengthen the comparative advantages of the tourism industry today, but also, as one example, to refurbish the cluster of textiles.


Downtown Pereira is picturesque, which could bring a sort of added value to the foreigner tourist. It's messy, hard to transit, packed with street vendors, noisy, and dirty. Tourists may enjoy picturesque for once, but they will remember disarray forever.

We must invest, also, in security, to create a favorable and stable environment for investors from the rest of the country and abroad.

Correspondingly, the allocation of resources to science and technology is a must do. Within the region, the private institutions improvement on education supply is indispensable. At the same time, we should stimulate the youth so they comprehend the key value of been educated, that only skillful societies with citizens who know to handle appropriately new technologies, will overcome the challenges posed by the coming decades.

Likewise, Pereira should improve its civic culture. The goodness of its people is reflected not only in being good hosts, or been cheerful and friendly citizens. The tourist must feel comfortable while in Pereira. Vehicular traffic in the city is messy and sometimes chaotic, not only because of the infrastructure’s deficit existence, but also because of the drivers and pedestrians’ low civility. Parked vehicles on the streets in forbidden places, and pedestrians who do not respect the crosswalks are some of the factors that can only be improved through an enhancement civic culture process.

The combination of institutional efforts with the allocation and responsible use of significant public resources to do enduring investments, the citizens belief that Pereira can become a center of sustainable development for the country and, above all, the recognition of the importance of rebuilding a culture of peace, focusing citizens’ potential towards educational and cultural efforts, will make of Pereira the pearl its citizens have always imagined.

The cost of Peace

Column La Tarde

Fundación Kíos

The Cost of Peace

Edward Luttwak, a military strategist and historian of the United States released a few years ago a provocative article that outlined the benefits and practicalities of war, not only from a military standpoint, but from a political perspective. Luttwak said that war is a political decision beyond any ethical or moral consideration, which allows to end conflict by permitting the more powerful party to prevail over the weaker one. The war, in the words of Luttwak, allows rearranging forces and positions of different actors, setting new balances of power. Historically, the most warlike periods of history, have given way to stages of relative stability and peace, which are characterized by high economic growth. In short, the war will put an end to conflicts, clearing the parts to set new guidelines to negotiate and agree on a lasting consensus over the points in dispute.

The reflections of this controversial author may serve as a reference to raise some points on the new strategy of the national government against the armed conflict. War only works if it is used to bring down the confrontations for good. In Colombia, it is true that there has been a clear strengthening of the military forces, nonetheless the conflict came to a stalemate in which neither side can definitively imposed on the other. Even with the Democratic Security policy, the FARC still entrenched in certain areas of the country and they have hardly lose control over historic strategic areas like northern Cauca or the Colombian’s Amazon departments. The costs generated by this deadlock are very high not only from a budgetary perspective, but also from the viewpoint of the country’s misplaced opportunities for growth and development. Therefore, Mr. Santos government's decision to open the space for dialogues could permit exploration of new solutions to the conflict, beyond the purely military.

However, the end of armed conflict involves consideration of various relevant aspects. One is the economic cost the country should assume to ensure the combatants’ reintegration into civilian life. This requires the support of the productive and domestic corporate sectors, even if they are unwilling to cooperate financially in the process, as it was revealed by a recent survey published by Dinero magazine. The other key issue is justice. Peace cannot mean impunity and oblivion, much less, disregard of the victims’ rights to fair reparation. Two aspects we definitely should start considering, so this new process doesn’t became only a missed expectation but a real opportunity.