Colombia and Mexico

Background:

Mexico and Colombia share common features originated from the blend of pre-Cortesian civilizations and the legacy of the Spanish Conquest. Although rich and diverse, their cultural heritage and vibrant lifestyles are often eclipsed by media coverage that tends to focus on the violence generated by the war on drugs. This program intends to go beyond stereotypes in order to get a better understanding of the challenges faced by both countries: while discovering their natural and social landscapes, participants will be able to gather quality experiences that will allow them to further relate with the Mexican and Colombian peoples.

The border between Mexico and the United States stretches for almost 2,000 miles. It is therefore of the utmost importance for both neighbors to get to know each other in a constructive manner. Comprising an area of 761,000 square miles, Mexico is far from being homogeneous: it is a land of contrasts--from jungles to deserts; mountains and abundant coastlines focusing, nonetheless, around the central high plateau where Mexico City is located. Its history dates back to 8000 B.C. when corn was first grown near Tehuacán, Puebla, and the mother culture of the Olmecs started developing astronomical observations reflected in the use of calendars and early human settlements. From then until the Conquest in 1521, pre-Hispanic cultures like the Maya, Zapotecs and Aztecs thrived successively around independent city-states such as Teotihuacán, developing arts and trade throughout a vast region known as Mesoamerica. Three centuries of Colonial rule gave birth to Mexico as we know it, a blend of indigenous and Western civilization. The history of the country is now mirrored in the faces of the people, since the vast majority of Mexicans are neither Europeans nor Amerindians, but mestizos.

From the Conquest by Hernán Cortés (1519-1521) to independence (1810-1821) to revolution (1910-1920) to the present, Mexicans have engaged in a quest for identity. They speak Spanish while glorifying their pre-Hispanic past, a turbulent past of conquerors and conquered that remains alive as an ongoing process in the mind of every Mexican today, from where the origins of such problems as corruption and discrimination are to be found. After achieving independence from Spain, political instability derived from struggles between liberal and conservatives led to foreign interventions (causing the loss of half of its territory, most of it uninhabited) that finally brought a sense of national identity. From 1876 to 1910, the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz imposed “order and progress” allowing the economy to thrive. The outbreak of the Revolution, calling for “non re-election,” was an economic setback and brought the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) into power for 80 years until the neoliberal policies implanted by Presidents Miguel de la Madrid (1982-1988) and Carlos Salinas de Gortari (1988-1994) paved the way to the signing of NAFTA in 1994. This coincided with the surge of the Zapatista movement in Chiapas and the recognition of the triumph of the opposition candidate in the presidential elections of 2000. Felipe Calderón, another Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) candidate, succeeded Vicente Fox at the presidency in 2006 by a very close margin against left-wing Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD).

Although Mexico is the world’s leading producer of silver, the economy is largely dependent on oil, followed by remittances and tourism. The transition to democracy and consolidation of political institutions is an ongoing process in a country that still faces many problems derived from an extremely uneven distribution of wealth. While Carlos Slim ranks first on the Forbes list, half of the population lives in poverty, causing thousands to seek opportunities in migration.

Paradoxical is frequently used to characterize Colombia. On the one hand, Colombia has a distinguished tradition of political stability as one of Latin America’s longest-functioning democracies, with an impressive record of uninterrupted, contested elections and respect for political institutions. It is the only country in Latin America with two rival political parties which have survived since their founding in the middle of the nineteenth century, and of large nations in the region the one with the fewest number of military regimes. The Colombian economy, once based on agricultural production such as coffee, but increasingly driven by its oil and coal sector, has been a model of solidity, having largely escaped the volatility of many neighboring countries. Colombia is also notable for the richness of its cultural and intellectual life, boasting internationally celebrated writers including Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, renowned artists such as Fernando Botero, and contemporary cultural icons such as Shakira.

On the other hand, Colombia is a fractured and polarized society where the tradition of electoral competition has existed alongside a history of political violence. In spite of significant improvements in the country’s security situation in recent years, Colombia continues to be plagued by leftist insurgencies, rightwing paramilitaries, and criminal violence related with the drug business. Sparked by the 1948 assassination of popular Liberal leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, the country became engulfed in an unprecedented period of violence between liberal and conservative factions that swept the entire nation, killing hundreds of thousands. La Violencia in turn gave birth to the internal conflict that began in the late 1950’s with the proliferation of peasant vigilante groups from which emerged the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia), currently the world’s oldest guerrilla organization.

This ongoing juxtaposition of democracy, economic and political stability, with a protracted armed conflict, chronic criminal and political violence and an illegal drug industry that supplies 80 percent of the world’s cocaine, makes Colombia a Latin American anomaly. The wild card in Colombia’s future remains cocaine. Although the United States backed war on drugs has successfully reduced coca cultivations, persistent poverty, the external demand for cocaine, mostly in the advanced industrialized countries, and its illegality which leads to powerful financial incentives, are such that it is unlikely that drug cultivation and trafficking in Colombia will go away entirely. In a vicious cycle of illegality and criminality, income from drug related activities sustains Colombia’s internal conflict.

Colombia’s contrasts also extend to its geography and society. The birth of Colombia in 1819 following the definitive war of liberation from Spanish rule led by Simon Bolivar, inaugurated a diverse nation of peoples and regions. Even with rapid urbanization and modernization, regionalism and regional identities are still extremely pronounced in Colombia. The three north-south ranges of the Andes, its coasts on both the Pacific and the Caribbean, the southern Amazon border and its vast eastern plains create a land of stunning geographic diversity. At the same time, Colombia is a social and cultural mosaic of ethnic groups and races comprised of 85 percent white and Mestizo, 11 percent Afrocolombian and four percent indigenous.

Purpose:

The goal of the seminar is to give participants a unique opportunity to explore the diversity of Mexico and Colombia, to familiarize with the origins of the many issues they face in different contexts (rural, urban and even global) and to understand the challenge of building a free and fair society. The seminar will begin with a Pre-departure Orientation in Texas in order to give participants an introduction to the country and start growing group bonds. Once in Mexico and Colombia, the seminar will combine visits to archaeological sites, schools, museums, natural parks, indigenous communities and markets with lectures and discussions by specialists on each topic. As an integral part of the program, the seminar will explore different expressions of Mexican and Colombian folklore such as the production of hand-made handicrafts, traditional cuisine, music, medicine and religious practices.

Participants will have the opportunity to mingle with artisans, teachers and other representatives of Mexican and Colombian society in order to better understand the historic roots as well as different aspects of present day Mexico and Colombia. By the end of the seminar, participants will have gained a deeper knowledge on some of the problems faced by Latino students in their classrooms, providing them with the means to relate and help them adjust to present conditions, thus improving bilateral relationships.

States to be visited:

In Mexico: Oaxaca, Veracruz, Puebla and the Federal District.
In Colombia: Bogotá, Zona Cafetera, Medellín, Cartagena

Applicant Information page | SAP Home | IFLE Home