“There is no reason why poverty cannot be eliminated completely”

According to the Bangladeshi banker and economist Muhammad Yunus, microcredits can be a way in which countries can effectively reduce poverty. With that concept in mind, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate arrived in Colombia for an international summit of microfinancing in the northern city of Cartagena de Indias. Yunus and Colombia’s main banker, Luis Carlos Sarmiento, signed an agreement to create a version of Yunus’ famous microlending Grameen bank in the South American country. The new institution, which sets out to help the poor, will be financed by Sarmiento’s philanthropic foundation and will have around 3 million US dollars in seed money.

Bearing in mind Yunus’ background, SEMANA United States correspondent Juan Carlos Iragorri interviewed the Bangladeshi economist on his microcredit system, on how Latin American countries can fight poverty and how the world can overcome the current financial crisis. Furthermore he asked the Nobel Prize winner to give his opinion on how Colombia can achieve peace with the guerrillas and paramilitaries.