My Plan Colombia

My Plan Colombia

In times of disagreement, it is important to draw the conveniences, which is why I firmly believe that with the people and land of Venezuela and Colombia we could build a Nation capable of competing, face to face, with the other superpowers of the world. However, given the many mental and real barriers that exist, you will probably ask me: what lumpia [eggroll) did I smoke?

Paraphrasing Carlos Zubillaga, I consider that one of the obstacles to the integration of interests of the two countries is due to the fact that Colombia seems to have developed under the influence of a ruling class, which only sought to dominate, while in Venezuela, our course was marked by a ruling class that refused to dominate.

Another impediment is the loss of self-confidence, caused first and foremost by the gospel of globalization. Normally, our geographical conditions, between north and south, east and west, would represent for a glass-half-full philosopher a cluster of fortresses, but unfortunately, for our glass-half-empty philosophers, they only constitute weak flanks to protect.

To make matters worse, even Bolívar's life cycle, his birth and death, which could unite us so much, instead of constituting a platform to launch us into a greater future, only seems to anchor us in the past.

Given these difficulties, it is understandable that prudence suggests deferring an integration effort until when more favorable conditions exist. However, the reality is that our Colombia, said with the same right and respect with which I hope they can refer to their Venezuela, faces something very close to a civil war, which we simply cannot ignore.

Of course, if we want to preserve the ambitions of achieving a future and twinned greatness, we cannot participate directly in this conflict, but I believe that this should not mean that our only alternative for action is to equip our border and avoid the splash of a Colombia Plan.

On the contrary, the moment is historically opportune to relaunch an aggressive economic integration plan that helps us, both them and us, to understand that the true obstacles to a better future are very, very far from the causes of a fratricidal conflict.

In this sense, I propose that we immediately seek to reaffirm the Andean Pact, at least as it relates to Colombia and Venezuela. To begin, we must seek to align our currencies in order to maximize Colombian-Venezuelan commercial exchange and impose significant external and common trade barriers, which will allow us to create an important internal market.

The above, like a successful angioplasty, could unblock the commercial arteries and oxygenate the economies to such an extent that both Colombia and Venezuela can observe new and better horizons and perhaps even a bonanza that allows generating new and peaceful solutions.

In so many places in the world we observe the presence of wars caused by passions that are absolutely inexplicable to a normal being. For God's sake, whatever happens, I beg you not to leave as an inheritance to our children that absolute, eternal and corrosive hatred between brother peoples, which eats away at a newborn life.

(Translated by Google from an Op-Ed published in El Universal January 4, 2001)