Part 5 - 20 Critical Problems that Keep Colombia in the Third World

The Final Two of This Series

With these final two critical social problems, we wrap up the series on living and working in Colombia. Much of the news coming out of the country is negative, but there are, in fact, quite a number of positives which can be associated with this, one of the world’s most notorious countries.

Here are the final two issues to be mentioned in this series.

19. There are lax controls on essential medicines and drugs of all classes.
As for whether it’s good or bad to be able to get virtually any non-narcotic prescription medication over-the-counter, is still up for grabs. If you know the name, composition r brand of a medication, it can usually be purchased without a prescription from pharmacies throughout the country. The quality may be subject to question as well in some areas. Even if you want to take “what my neighbor took when she had this problem”, you can often just go into any pharmacy and buy it no questions asked. True, some countries over-regulate, but then again it’s a tough call any way you look at it.

20. Racial and social prejudices are commonplace.
“America went through a crisis of its own during the 1960s with the emergence of intergration in its society. The process still continues as the current presidential race well demonstrates with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in history’s forefront. Will America finally have a black president? We’ll soon know. No question about a black president in Colombia though. No one expects or believes it could happen anytime soon. Why? … Because of deep-seated inferiority beliefs on the part of many Colombians – black and white. Minorities like blacks and indigenous races do not get “equal treatment” despite laws to the contrary. Not “Jim Crow” of the mid 1900s, but not too far off either. With enough money, a measure of “equality” can be reached, but is not available to the majority.

In another, soon upcoming series, we’ll look at some of the positive aspects of living and working in Colombia, one of the world’s most beautiful, but notorious countries. Stay tuned …


Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 80 countries. Get your FREE E-books,"If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" or "7 Techniques to Motivate Your English Language Learners and Make Your Classes More Dynamic" by requesting the title you want at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Then e-mail me for further information.

Part 4 - 20 Critical Problems that Keep Colombia in the Third World

Living in Colombia
While living in Colombia is almost always a challenge, there are pleasantries associated with the country too. Nevertheless, the country must seriously address a number of major concerns in order to substantially progress to new economic and social levels. China, India, Pakistan and North Korea are poised, at varying stages, to move from “third world” status to join European and “super-power” countries at higher socio-economic strata. Colombia ultimately could do so too upon reversing, minimizing or eliminating these and aforementioned critical problem areas.

16. Con artists and scammers of all types abound.
There are so many cons, scams and swindles that you can hardly keep up with the techniques being used. It’s unsafe now to go to an ATM machine after dark anywhere you may live. In most of many big cities, it’s not even safe to do so during the day without precautions. The “Paseo Millionario”, Paquete Chileno”, “Latin Fantasy” and others are well-known scams locally as is the “Pesca MIlagrosa”. With the knowledge of poor or non-existent law enforcement, law-breakers at all levels are bolder than ever before. You MUST be careful at all times. Even then the odds are stacked against you.

17. Drug trafficking is considered a “way of life” in many areas.
If you think drug traffickers are low-life, slum-bred types who prey on the unwary from dark alleys, murky street corners or smoke-filled bar bathrooms, you’ve been watching too much TV. Perhaps you need to get out and get a life. How about “the Narco-Trafficker who lives next door”? Economic viability is now such an integral part of many societies, including Colombia’s, that you almost can’t tell the “good guys” from the “bad guys” without a scorecard. Having money is everything here. If you have, you can get almost anything you want. If you don’t, you can’t. It’s as simple as that. The more you have, the more you can get. The less you have, the less you can get. The drug trade in Colombia is an “easy”, though dangerous, source of some big bucks.

18. Essential goods and services are increasingly difficult to get and are expensive when available.
Inflation is the scourge of everyone. You pay more and more for less and less. Many prices fluctuate on the dollar. When the dollar goes up, things get pricey. When the dollar goes down, families often can splurge. Credit card rates are 30% to 40% annually. Consumer loans, when you can get them are equally hideous. With quality assurance of many locally-produced goods at an all time low, consumers value higher quality imported items. The trade deficit is staggering. Prices are low in comparison to those of higher-level economies, but are rising against low-yield salaries. Minimum wage is less than $2.00 per hour, less than $250 per month. The standard work week is six days long. Almost everyone works Monday through Friday all day and at least a half day or more on Saturday. So much for the weekend. Colombians drink far less of their world-famous Colombian coffee than, say for example, Americans do. Not because they or Juan Valdez like their coffee any less, but because most of the “good stuff” is exported. So what do Colombians drink? Coffee imported from south east Asian countries like Vietnam which has a distinctly lower price!

Certainly there are notable benefits to living in many areas of Colombia, year-round tropical weather, unspoiled natural beauty and nature abound, hordes of beautiful women, adventure, and exotic foods being some. There is good news out of Colombia. It just isn’t as publicized as the more graphic variety is. I for one, receive a continuous stream of requests from potential expatriates from the USA, Canada, the UK and other countries for information on living and working or retiring to Colombia. As I mentioned earlier, I still live here too. But I reserve the right to my opinions, good or bad, positive or negative, along with the right to express them. This is what I think.

What do YOU think?


Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 80 countries. Get your FREE E-books,"If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" or "7 Techniques to Motivate Your English Language Learners and Make Your Classes More Dynamic" by requesting the title you want at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Then e-mail me for further information.

Part 3 – 20 Critical Problems that Keep Colombia in the Third World

For Foreign Nationals and Expatriates with Children

For foreign nationals and expatriates with children you’ll have some of the following concerns in addition to a few others of your own in these critical areas. Here in part three, we continue to consider critical problems of Colombian society including the educational system, consumer protection laws, crime, minorities and the impact of unemployment that reaches as high as 80% - no, that’s not a misprint. Read on …

11. The education system promotes "vagabond" attitudes.
There currently exists a policy in public schools NOT to “fail” learners. You can miss classes (Did YOU ever play “Hookey”?). You can fail even an endless string of “makeup” exams. You can neglect study, class participation, homework or virtually productive activity in class and the learner will still “pass” to the next grade level at the end of the school year. Now in many schools, there is no homework. Slothful, slow, uncaring and unmotivated learners pass from one grade to the next with practically no effort at all knowing that they almost can’t fail. This means that barring all else the learners don’t get their rude “wake-up” call until they enter the university level or the workforce and find out, that in life, you can fail. The quality of Colombian education can vary widely depending on location, cost and administration from primary through the university level.

12. There is little or NO consumer protection.
Talk about a bone to pick, this one’s a biggie for me. Never before has the phrase “Caveat emptor” – “Let the buyer beware” been more appropriate. From buying a house or condo, to a car, major appliances, furniture or goods and services (maids, plumbers, electricians, contractors) of all types, there is practically no recourse for an unwary consumer. Sellers disappear moments after a major sale, consumer cases rarely make it to a court docket and enforcement of contracts or legal agreements can be laughable. Workers, when hired for in-house jobs in any occupation, trade or service must be constantly be “watched” to avoid theft, taking excessive “breaks” or simply “goofing off” on the job. There is no “overall system” for certifying workers or professionals, so finding competent service personnel can be a bit of a challenge most of the time.

13. Cities and regions of the country inhabited primarily by minorities are highly under-developed.
The first few times I went into black-populated regions of the Pacific coast, I nearly cried at the absolutely primitive conditions people live in – this is the 21st century, I reminded myself. Men have landed on the moon, orbited the earth for weeks at time, plumbed the ocean’s frigid depths and constructed buildings that stand up through the clouds. Yet people are obliged to live without even the most basic of amenities. No running water or toilets. No electricity. Forget even the hint of a telephone. Unpaved streets and roads where there are even roads at all. Constant flooding. No sewage facilities. Flies and mosquitoes infest everything bringing the predictable diseases with them. Poor diets consisting of but a few fruits, vegetables and whatever they can hunt. In 2001 though, Colombia crowned Vanessa Alexandra Mendoza Bustos, originally from one of Colombia’s poorest most undeveloped regions – the Choco, its first black Miss Colombia. Even a more recent black Miss Colombia finalist also stated that she had “never seen a car until she was nearly 20 years old”!

14. Unemployment is often at sky-high rates and is continually rising.
The stark contrast of the “Haves” and the “Have Nots” has almost never been more pronounced than it is here. The city of Cartagena, the so-called “crown jewel” of Colombia is but one example. While millions of dollars are spent to fund the pageantry of the Miss Colombia Beauty Pageant, just a few blocks away local residents endure flooding, open sewers, rotting buildings and other basic amenities – even while the pageant is in progress. The unemployment rate among blacks in the area is reputed to be in excess of 80%. Is it any wonder that crime is a major problem there and in other locales as well? But this of course, is not the face of Cartagena that gets publicized outside of Colombia.

15. Violent crimes are considered passé.
It used to be that violent, heinous crimes shocked, staled and amazed even the staunchest of us. Not here, not anymore. When Luis Alfredo Garavito, one of Colombia’s most notorious convicted serial child murderers (who has now confessed to more than 200 child murders over a multi-year period) was released from prison, not once, but TWICE, families and residents were finally up in arms. Each time he was released, more children died. He almost got released again a couple of years ago, but fortunately, hasn’t been so far. Violent murders on the streets of Cali, Bogota and Medellin, Colombia’s three largest cities, hardly rate the news anymore with only the most bizarre, tragic or heinous of these ever being reported. How would you feel if you’d personally witnessed 11 violent murders in the streets as I have over the past twelve years?


Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 80 countries. Get your FREE E-books,"If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" or "7 Techniques to Motivate Your English Language Learners and Make Your Classes More Dynamic" by requesting the title you want at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com Need a blog or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Then E-mail me for further information.

Part 2 – 20 Critical Problems that Keep Colombia in the Third World

Living and Working in Colombia














Living and working in Colombia can have some advantages despite its well-deserved reputation for violence, kidnapping, human rights violations, corruption and drug trafficking. Here we’ll continue to comment briefly on five more of what I feel are the 20 most critical problems that keep Colombia in the “Third World”.

6. Travel, especially between cities at night, can be hazardous.
There’s an expression in common use here in Spanish that goes, “No dar papaya”. It’s not referring to Papaya, the fruit, but rather to not giving opportunity to crimes of chance (or opportunity). That is to say, that many crimes aren’t planned, they happen because the wrong people see – and seize – the opportunity to “benefit” form a misadventure. Such can be the case when traveling long distances at night. Roads and highways are poorly policed, if at all, with highwaymen, guerrilla and “Para-Militares”, delinquent gangs of robbers, thieves, muggers and kidnappers plying their trade among the unsuspecting travelers unfortunate enough to get caught on board.

7. There is little or no enforcement of laws.
Laws? Oh yes, there are plenty of laws presumably for the protection of all. The problem is though, they are typically NOT enforced. From running through red traffic lights, driving the wrong way on a one-way street to hit-and-run-drivers, people do essentially anything knowing they won’t be pursued, investigated, caught or punished for anything. Jails and prisons are often horrendously over-crowded or controlled by the inmates themselves. Even murder often gets a quickie, one-over pass by over-worked, under-staffed police stations. This results in part to a vigilante-style type of “justice” where common people may take the law into their own hands. Solutions to unpaid debts, major thefts or robbery, “deals” gone bad and other consumer-oriented complaints can be to murder the “offender”.


8. Criminals regularly receive impunity from prosecution or punishment.
When law-breakers are apprehended for some violation, penalties can take years to be administered, if at all. Car theft is “punishable by as little as a few hours or one day in jail. Non-violent crimes frequently carry no jail time at all with the country’s horrendously over-crowded jails and prisons. Some popular penal code theories not withstanding, this offers little incentive to prospective or career law-breakers.

9. Human rights violations are rampant.
Crimes and human rights violations against women, children and minorities are rampant. These most vulnerable groups, when part of the poorest elements of society, are virtually defenseless before authorities or any who might wish to exploit them. There are millions of refugees throughout Colombia, displaced from their homes and lands by wars and violent conflicts, land speculation or simply by those whose goal is to obtain extended fields and land from which to operate.

10. The legal system is loop-hole-riddled and corrupt.
Colombia certainly isn’t the only country where those with enough money can “buy” justice – or lack thereof. Legal proceedings can take years to get on the docket, then drag on for years more when they do - all for the right price, of course. Almost everyone wants to be a lawyer. There are so many in fact, that there are more “lawyers” driving taxis and working other positions than there are actually practicing law. Finding a lawyer is easy. Finding a competent one though, can be another matter entirely.

In the next, part 3 of this series, we’ll continue with five more of what I feel are the 20 most critical problems with Colombia that keep it a “third world” country. Your constructive comments, opinions and feedback are welcomed. See you then.


Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 80 countries. Get your FREE E-books,"If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" or "7 Techniques to Motivate Your English Language Learners and Make Your Classes More Dynamic" by requesting the title you want at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com Need a blog or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business? Please e-mail me for further information.

20 Critical Problems that Keep Colombia in the Third World

Move to Colombia?
If you watch commercials on any of the local TV stations, listen to sports radio, see the Travel & Living channel spots on cable TV, you can easily get primed to move to Colombia despite its well-deserved reputation for violence, kidnapping, and drug trafficking. This is not to mention the on-going civil war raging between Colombia’s government, Para-military forces like the AUC and Guerilla military forces like the FARC. Let’s not forget the ghastly murder and crime rates.


Nonetheless, after considering the post “20 Reasons Not to Move to Dubai” in an ELT forum online, I thought I’d take a shot at a similarly-themed post dealing with diverse aspects of Colombia. Now don’t get me wrong, I have lived in Colombia for the past 12 years teaching English as a foreign language with my Colombian wife. I pay taxes, health insurance and retirement through the Colombian systems. I still live here and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, but it is exactly this familiarity bred from many years living and working here that empower me to write about this country.


Here’s the first five of my 20-item list and brief commentary:

1. In many areas there are NO or very few government services.
Streets are pot-hole-riddled and what there are of highways are often a mess, but drivable.
During peak periods of travel, multiple delays, massive traffic jams and over-burdened transportation systems and facilities are common place.

2. The climate, while tropical in most areas, can vary to extremes.
Summer months from June through August can be brutally hot in some areas and unseasonably cool in others. You’ll need a sweater or jacket in Bogotá and air-conditioning in Cali, Cartagena and other cities.

3. There is the constant threat of earthquakes.
Most of Colombia from the Pacific coast to the central highlands and beyond has experienced devastating earthquakes which can occur during any time of the day or night. I have lived through serious early morning tremors that cracked walls and tumbled ceilings to night time quakes the rendered buildings uninhabitable and caused the seemingly super-natural glow of earthquake lights to appear around the city of Cali.

4. There is the constant threat of volcanic eruptions.
Several of Colombia’s many volcanoes are in active or semi-active status. The most news-worthy of these being Galeras Volcano, located beside the city of Pasto populated by more than 400,000 people, in the southern part of the country. Warnings and evacuation “threats” have become so common that residents hardly pay them any attention until ash and gas spew forth from the blackened summit. Colombia’s worst catastrophe was the destruction of Armero, an entire town of more than 23,000 inhabitants virtually all killed in one night – buried under a volcanic eruption-caused mudslide more than forty feet deep. Other Colombian volcanoes include snow-capped Nevada Ruiz, also with recent eruptions, and Purace.

Photo above: Galeras volcano seen from central Pasto

5. There are sometimes frequent outages of water or power services.
We’ve gone to collecting and storing rain water. That way, when the water supply “fails” or goes out for any reason, we still have some water available for washing, bathing, cleaning and cooking. Sometimes the outages are announced. Sometimes they’re not – catching the unwary unprepared. These “waterless” periods can last for hours or days – sometimes you just never know.

In part two of this multiple-part series, we’ll continue to examine what I feel are the 20 most critical problems with Colombia that keep it a “third world” country. Your comments, opinions and feedback are welcomed. See you next installment.


Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 80 countries. Get your FREE E-books,"If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" or "7 Techniques to Motivate Your English Language Learners and Make Your Classes More Dynamic" by requesting the title you want at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com