Why peace means business
Here is the Country that may well be the “next” case study for Trade
Last month, 34 million Colombians voted against the Peace Agreement between the Colombian government and the guerilla organisation, Farc. Voting “sí” would have meant closing a long chapter of kidnapping, killings and bombings; a chapter of forced migration scattering families all over the world. Last week, polls predicted Colombians were likely to accept the Peace Agreement.
Although many news headlines claim that Colombians have decided against peace, voting “no” was not a refusal to settle 52 years of conflict. The idea of a new era was put on hold, but the clocks are not ticking backwards. Colombians want peace, but the majority of the population did not favour the way the conflict was settled. In return for turning in their weapons, the Farc was supposed to receive seats in parliament.
The opposition thought that the punishment for Farc members was too mild and did not agree with the government granting the guerillas political representation.
Avid Netflix viewers are familiar with the hit tv series, Narcos, which is based on the story of former Colombian King of cocaine, Pablo Escobar. The series portrays an unstable Colombia, characterized by narcotic traffic and violence. This perception is not just limited to Narcos fans. Colombia will need to work hard to shine a positive light on the country. It is time for the country to prove to the world that it is not just cocaine cartels and terrorism, because so much more than that.
In fact, Colombia’s economy has been highly active in all of the years of its dispute. It has been awake, slow-dancing with the crowd. The country was not significantly affected by the financial crisis and has been experiencing a growth spurt since 2009.
One might think that Colombia is drowning in the shadow cast by its neighboring giant, Brazil, but think twice:
According to Digital Country Index data, Colombia is actually the 2nd most searched country in the world for the category “companies” after the United States.
Colombia’s businesses seem to attract so much interest that “companies” are the most searched for keyword in South America. It accounts for an astonishing 74% of all searches in the continent!
An era of political stability would make Colombia rev its economic engines. Achieving peace would mean a lot of business for the country.
Colombia is like an orchid. Rich in beauty, surprising, proud, and full of potential. The country has been struggling to flourish over the past half of a century and we are waiting for it to come into full bloom.
The upcoming months will be critical for Colombia to prove itself as a competitive actor on the world stage. The government announced that they will continue to try and achieve peace despite the referendum failing. So be patient, for there is a season for everything!
