Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [19]
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The biggest thing on a lot of Colombians’ minds these days, however, is trade with the US. The US gobbles up more than a third of Colombia’s exports, many of which – such as bananas, coffee, chocolate, clothing and fresh-cut flowers – are currently tariff-free under the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA). Since its signing in the late ’90s, Colombian business has boomed (stimulated by lowered US tariffs) and good jobs (by Colombian standards) have been created in those industries.
ATPDEA was never meant to be permanent, and has been extended several times while the Tratado de Libre Comercio (TLC, a free-trade agreement with the US) is being negotiated. Ratification of the TLC was stalled in the US Senate at the time of writing, where Democratic lawmakers have questioned the high rate of violence against union leaders in Colombia. Meanwhile, ATPDEA is due to expire at the end of 2008. Failing a further extension, or the ratification of the TLC, Colombia will no longer be able to compete against other Latin American countries such as Brazil, Chile and Peru, which do have a free trade agreement with the US, and many Colombian workers may lose their jobs as a result.
Whether the TLC is signed or not, Colombian workers are still likely to lose out. Some economists call it a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation. If Colombia ratifies the TLC, it will throw open the doors to US taxpayer-subsidized genetically modified corn, wheat and cotton. Colombian farmers won’t be able to compete, and will go out of business. On the other hand, if the TLC isn’t ratified and ATPDEA expires, the rebound in US import tariffs will put a serious damper on Colombian clothing manufacturers, banana producers and coffee growers, among others.
For better or worse, Colombia’s fate is tied to that of the United States. Millions of expat Colombians in Miami and New York send home monthly remittances to their families; this alone accounts for a significant portion of Colombian GDP.
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POPULATION
Colombia is urbanizing rapidly. Efforts to reduce coca cultivation have pushed many subsistence farmers off their land, resulting in their relocation to inner-city slums.
While Colombians could generally be said to be a mixed race people, certain ethnic groups still dominate different parts of the country. Many European immigrants populated Medellín, while much of the population of Cali is descended from former slaves. Bogotá and surrounds are dominated by a large indigenous population. Both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts have a high proportion of Afro-Colombians. The border region with Ecuador is dominated by the same Andean people that populate the mountain regions of Ecuador. Many immigrants from the Middle East have settled on the Caribbean coast (among whom the singer Shakira, who has a Lebanese background, is the most famous offspring).
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For complete coverage of Colombian football, see www.futbolred.com/mustang.
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The Colombian national population currently hovers around 46 million, making it the third most populous country in Latin America after Brazil and Mexico. It is now slightly larger than its former colonizer, Spain.
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SPORTS
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Soccer
Colombians love fútbol (soccer). The national league has 18 teams across the country, and attracts rowdy and boisterous crowds during the two seasons (February to June and August to December). While many second-string players from Brazil and Argentina play in the league, the standard of play is by no means world-class, making for entertaining, error-prone matches.
Colombian clubs participate in the South American Champions League (Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol), and it was a great source of Colombian pride when the outmanned Cúcuta club advanced to the 2006 South American finals against Boca Juniors of Buenos Aires (Cúcuta lost).
It will be many years yet before the most infamous moment in Colombian soccer is