Tuesday, June 14, 2016

LatAm in Focus: Simón Gaviria on Financing Peace in Colombia

By Holly K. Sonneland

Colombia’s GDP will grow an additional 1.9 percent per year in a post-conflict era, forecasts the National Planning Department director.

<div class="wrapper" style="width: 100%;"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 30%; height: 80%"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/Gaviria_image.jpg" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;" /> <a href="http://www.as-coa.org/watchlisten/video-bogot%C3%A1-2016-dividendos-econ%C3%B3micos-de-la-paz-para-colombia" target="_blank">Watch Gaviria debate</a> with panelists at <a href="http://www.as-coa.org/events/2016-latin-american-cities-conferences-bogot%C3%A1" target="_blank">our 2016 Bogotá conference</a>. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> Enjoy this podcast? <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/latin-america-in-focus/id1089353175" target="_blank">Subscribe to Latin America in Focus on iTunes</a>! As Colombia nears a final peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, aka <a href="http://www.as-coa.org/articles/explainer-farc-and-colombias-50-year-civil-conflict">the FARC</a>, one new challenge presents itself: what will be the financial costs—and gains—of a country at peace? To answer that question, AS/COA Online’s Holly Sonneland talked with <a href="https://twitter.com/simongaviria" target="_blank">Simón Gaviria</a>, director of Colombia’s <a href="https://www.dnp.gov.co/paginas/Inicio.aspx" target="_blank">National Planning Department</a>, and son of ex-president César Gaviria. His department, <a href="http://www.minhacienda.gov.co/HomeMinhacienda/ShowProperty;jsessionid=h5ltDPFSOvD05n4AEH_ycKAnbxp4wXSlhskuYdD36NGlUdqGMzqf!2004931250?nodeId=%2FOCS%2FMIG_41322604.PDF%2F%2FidcPrimaryFile&revision=latestreleased" target="_blank">which has a budget of $250 million for 2016</a>, conducted research of similar conflicts worldwide to determine the appropriate strategies for development and projects. Among their findings: they expect GDP to grow up to an additional 1.9 percent annually in a post-conflict era. Moreover, increased formality will lead income per capita to grow 10 to 15 percent over a ten-year period, and foreign direct investment is expected to triple. Hear Gaviria explain more about how peace is measured and what’s on his agenda. <hr /> Q: "If murder rates are dropping, is Colombia already at peace?" A: "That’s only if you look at peace from a homicide point of view." <hr /> Luisa Leme contributed production support to this episode. Inset image of Gaviria by Carlos Sepulveda.

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LatAm in Focus: Simón Gaviria on Financing Peace in Colombia

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