The Bulletin

The Brilliance Of Bogota

Jun 01 -- This past week, I was at the Wharton School of Business Latin America Conference in Bogota, Colombia. For those of you who think Colombia is like the early 1990s Harrison Ford movie “Clear and Present Danger,” where drug dealers are running around shooting politicians and where paramilitaries are overrunning the country, you would be surprised to find a moderately safe, growing country.

1 de junio de 2009

My hotel and the restaurants I ate in were full of Asian and European businesspeople trying to get contracts for infrastructure improvement. The Colombians have a president who is considered one of the best leaders in the world. There banking system is solid, NOT highly leveraged, interest rates are reasonable and Colombians are very optimistic.

Wanting to make Bogota a first-rate city that could be the economic engine of the country, Enrique Peñalosa, who is one of the most charismatic leaders one will ever see, was mayor of Bogota from 1997 to 2000 (they only have three-year terms) and set three audacious goals.

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