Balance of decentralization in Colombia: proposals for development and territorial equity

Abstract

The lack of a structural social pact continues to provoke outbreaks of protest against the strong social and territorial inequality. The elusive peace does not come because of the low corporate taxation, the absence of agrarian reform and rural policy, but also because of the pending challenges in adequate territorial development. Colombia has been in a constant battle for more than thirty years to achieve a unitary country with autonomy from its territorial entities. Although there have been substantive advances in some fields such as political empowerment, service provision and participation, there are still unresolved issues and a transformation of the institutional architecture is urgently needed in the face of the new realities and challenges facing the country. We must return to the path of the great transformations that the first ten years of decentralization signified.