Columbia
In Latin America, the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation cooperates with the Unión de Partidos Latinoamericanos (UPLA) – a cooperation organization for center-right parties in Latin America and a member of the International Democrat Union (IDU)..
Population: 44.7 million (2011 estimate)
Area: 1 138 914 km2
GDP (PPP): 431,9 billion dollar (2010 estimate)
GDP per capita (PPP): 9 800 $ (2010 estimate)
Rate of growth: 4,4 % (2010 estimate)
Head of state and head of government: Juan Manuel Santos Calderon
Colombia emerged as one of three states after the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830. The other two were Ecuador and Venezuela. For the last 40 years, the strife-ridden country has been in a state reminiscent of civil war as paramilitary guerillas fight for control. The proceeds from the narcotics traffic help fund the conflict. The guerilla and the paramilitary groups lack public support and their attempts at overthrowing the government have so far been unsuccessful. However, the conflict has claimed thousands of lives and plunged Colombian society into chaos. Peace talks with the FARC-guerilla broke down in Febuary of 2002 and an escalation of the conflict ensued. Human rights have been severely violated as a result of the conflict.
In 2002, a pledge to crack down on the guerillas and reinforce the military and the police was released. During the previous year, the FARC-guerilla suffered a number of set-backs which enabled the government to make headway in its fight against the guerilla. Nevertheless, FARC will undoubtedly continue to influence Colombian politics in the forseeable future. Other minor guerilla groups have been disarmed.
In May of 2008, the Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (Unasur) was founded. It is a union of the South American nations modelled on the EU. The union already has twelve member states, though its function is, as of yet, mostly symbolic.
In july 2010, Juan Manuel Santos Calderon was elected president. The Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation cooperates with Partido Conservador Colombiano (PCC) who supports the current government.
It is a stated goal of the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation to educate female decision-makers. In the autumn of 2010, the conference Empoderamiento de Mujeres took place in Honduras. The participants came from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Venezuela and the Dominican republic. Concurrently with this conference a youth conference was arranged around a Jarl Hjalmarson publication entitled “Principles for a Free Society.”
