The recent statements by the Minister of Mines, Irene Vélez, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on the energy transition were forceful; She gave Cesar and La Guajira as an example to start a transformation, the fossil energy crisis must be seen as an opportunity for the GDP of both departments to be more diverse and not depend on a single item. Today, our region leads the list of the highest rates of poverty, unemployment, informal work, hunger, insecurity, inflation, competitiveness, agricultural productivity, etc.
To remain tied to a sector that only benefited a few is suicide; It is urgent that local government entities and unions see reality and understand that it is necessary to change the chip of coal and oil; We have just enough time to conceive the key projects that both departments need to stop depending on the extractivism that liquidated other sectors, which now must be reactivated to achieve the long-awaited development. It is also necessary to adjust the regulations for the new challenges, a lot of creativity and investment focus are required to achieve the articulation of key sectors such as infrastructure, tourism and agro-industry.
The reality is that the Petro Government is going in that direction and insisting on the contrary is wasting time. From now on, we must think about joint planning, hopefully both departments will unite to exert greater pressure, because a lot is said from Bogotá, but little is landed, so leadership is required to urgently achieve a port that connects La Guajira with the world: the irrigation district of the Ranchería Dam must be a reality so that the south of La Guajira is an agricultural pantry and can guarantee our food security; the roads must be intervened, to connect the south of the department with Riohacha through the Distraction road, exiting to La Florida; like the Alta Guajira road, that finally Puerto Estrella and Nazareth are tourist destinations; the César Center should be a link with the center of the country with industrial parks and free zones, the railways must be used, connect Chiriguaná (César) with La Guajira.
Encourage cultural and tourism entrepreneurs to reformulate their businesses so that they can be competitive and invest in infrastructure, for example, in La Mina, Valledupar district, there should be an indigenous center that serves tourists, operated by them to show the greatness of the different ethnic groups, in Europe, where I find myself, interest in indigenous issues is great.
Valledupar should become the indigenous capital of the Sierra Nevada, with an ethnic museum that houses all the ancestral value. It is not with complaints, nor clinging to coal that we are going to survive in the future, it is by diversifying our potential and for that we have to prepare ourselves and, above all, take advantage of this government that wants to make the leap, let us not think about the fossil jobs that are they will lose with the transition, let us think about the other sectors that will be developed and the new jobs that will arise, without leaving aside the gas that there is too much in the Caribbean and it will greatly benefit La Guajira, there is even talk of a new Qatar, with all the recently discovered resources.
If we don’t do it, it will be another lost opportunity, as happened with 40 years of coal boom where resources were wasted on futile projects that only left corruption, hunger and misery. Let’s not make more parks and squares, let’s plan and dream big.