Poor Columbia

     A previous posting regretted that the claim of Bogotá to be the Athens of he Americas was an illusion. The newspaper which was the voice of the intellectual elite, El Tiempo, still carries on, but the life of Colombian journalists is miserable. Now the profession of press or TV reporter is attracting lots of attractive and bright young women, and they pay for it. TV today showed one of them in hospital, a bullet having hit her in the stomach.
     Guerrillas continue to wreck the country. Power lines were blown up near Medellín, the country's second city, and much of the area was left in darkness. The large FARC-held area reaches the boundaries of Venezuela, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador, permitting them access to the outside world.
     Madeleine Albright has been in north-coast Cartagena, far from risky places. This display of solidarity with the Pastrana government is backed by a large grant of funds supposedly to fight the drug trade. There is a widespread feeling that the civilian government is incapable of controlling the situation. It is not impossible that a military-led government like that in Venezuela, may take over.
     While religion may be the opium of the people of Latin America, soccer is its crack. The big news on Colombian TV was that it had won a scoop: an interview with the Argentine soccer player Maradona, recovering in Uruguay from an overdose of cocaine. These soccer heroes are not a very bright crowd, and the drugged Maradona sounded dopey. Still, he remains an international hero, whom Colombian TV was proud to have interviewed. The guerrilla warfare and the soccer crack are complementary. Poor Colombia!

Ronald Hilton - 1/18/00