‘Plan Colombia’ Turns 10

Counternarcotics cannot solve Colombia’s problems, said Felbab-Brown, because coca is not at the root of those problems. “There is only so much that counternarcotics programs can do given the basic economic and political situation in Colombia,” said Felbab-Brown. “You have a set-up where labor is heavily taxed and capital and land are lightly taxed, so even when you get economic growth, it doesn’t generate jobs, it only concentrates money in the hands of the rich. The Colombian government has been unwilling to address these issues, and inequality continues to grow. You can only do so much if you can’t generate legal jobs. You have to take on entrenched elites, the bases of political power in Colombia, and Uribe’s people are not interested in doing that.”

And neither will Santos, Uribe’s successor, as he’s from an entrenched elite family.

(via Instapaper)