The insecurity that exists in the country is alarming, to say the least. This situation goes far beyond citizen perception surveys and has become a reality, urban and rural, that cannot be hidden in any way.
The operation of organized gangs, extortion and violence grow without any control. The answers to stop this scourge cannot wait any longer.
And although there is talk of different actions by the authorities in this matter, it is clear that the efforts have to be, by far, more forceful. The time has come for, as a country, the authorities to respond with strategic, clear, realistic and organized reasoning.
No one can deny that, if crime increases, the productive capacity of nations is destroyed and a slowdown in their economic and social conditions is caused, immediately affecting investment, productivity and growth.
The situation we are going through in the previous sense is directly affecting the lives of all Colombians, attacking our rule of law.
Security at this time is a cornerstone of our country that is shaking like never before and against which we must act, from the government and civil society.
It is urgent to promote public discussion with different social agents to find effective solutions, before it is too late. We have to understand that it is not at any time about promoting exacerbating discourses or extrapolating authoritarian external replicas that, clearly, violate human rights.
On the contrary, it is pertinent to assertively reconfigure one’s own security policies and actions. But it is also necessary to develop new ones that allow us to respond, with a common effort, to the defense of what is our own, what belongs to others and what belongs to everyone, always respecting the integrity of all people.
We can’t wait any longer. It is very sad that fear and restlessness have become synonymous with everyday life.
It is an obligation to take a historical turn that prevents the social and economic collapse of what it has cost us so much to build as a country. Defending the social trinomial of security, development and human rights is urgent, that cannot be refuted.
Faced with this shift, it is vital that the government, authorities, private institutions, academia, non-governmental organizations and representatives of civil society immediately sit down to collaborate with each other to find new ways to confront The insecurity.
The effects of what we are experiencing are tangible. Despite the global economic slowdown, we all know that, in Colombia, this same slowdown is also due to hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses and companies that have had to close their doors. Due to extortion and/or insecurity, it is impossible for many to work.
The violence we are experiencing is amplifying inequality and increasing poverty throughout the country.