The people of Colombia’s north-western Chocó department feel abandoned by the national government. Such is their dissatisfaction that since mid-August, they have launched an unprecedented indefinite ‘civic strike’ across the department. This is a major source of concern for the government led by President Juan Manuel Santos, not least because Chocó is one of the areas that has suffered most from the violence related to Colombia’s decades-long internal armed conflict. The protest by the local population shows that even as the Santos government continues to advance in its peace negotiations with the leftist guerrillas, the lack of state presence remains a big problem in many violence-torn areas. This ultimately raises doubts as to whether the government can make good its promise of effectively promoting the development of these areas as part of the peace process. End of preview - This article contains approximately 1519 words.
Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article
Not a Subscriber?
Choose from one of the following options