Colombia

Colombia

Republic of Colombia

Local short form: Colombia

Local long form: Republica de Colombia

Cultural Note

Colombians have distinctive methods for indicating height and length:

To indicate the height of an animal, Colombians hold one hand horizontally at the appropriate height, as if they were resting their hand on top of the animal’s head. However, to describe the height of a person, the hand is held vertically (palm out, thumb on top), as if it were touching the back of the person’s head. To describe a person’s height using a horizontal hand is to dismiss him or her as an animal.

North Americans often indicate length by holding both hands out with the index fingers extended. This means that the length is the distance between the two fingers. However, two pointing fingers is an obscene gesture in Colombia. Colombians indicate length by extending their right arm and placing their left hand at the point on the arm where the distance from the fingertips on the right hand to the point marked by the left hand is equal to the length being indicated.

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suppressed, contributing to the eventual growth of guerrilla movements. This sharing of power is known as the National Front; they renewed their power-sharing agreement in 1974.

During the 1980s, the rise of the narcotraficantes, with their enormous wealth and power, threatened to undermine the authority of the Colombian government. Guerrillas, such as the M-19 group, also fought the government.

In 1984, the narcotraficantes finally went too far when they assassinated Justice Minister Rodrigo Lara Bonilla. In response, the Colombian government finally began to extradite Colombian narcotraficantes wanted for trial by the United States. These drug lords, who become known as Los Extraditables, alternated violence with bribes to avoid being extradited. They even offered to pay off Colombia’s entire U.S.$13 billion foreign debt. (The offer was declined.)

In November of 1985, the M-19 guerrillas occupied the Colombian Palace of Justice in Bogotá. Government troops defeated the occupiers, but the fighting caused the death of over 100 people, including eleven justices of the Colombian Supreme Court. Following this event, paramilitary death squads were formed to execute government opponents.

Open elections were finally held in 1990, allowing the participation of candidates from outside the National Front. Some former guerrillas were elected, and violence by many guerrilla organizations ceased. The last of the well-known narcotraficantes, Medellín Cartel leader Pablo Escobar, was killed in 1993. The new Cartel leaders learned to keep a lower profile and were less likely to assassinate government officials.

Type of Government

The Republic of Colombia is a unitary, multiparty republic with two legislative houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. There is also a judiciary branch. The president is elected to a single four-year term and cannot succeed himself. The president is both chief of state and head of the government.

The rule of government in Bogotá does not reach all of Colombia. For the past few decades, armed guerrilla groups have set up de facto governments in large areas of the Colombian countryside. For current government data, check with the Embassy of Colombia, at www.colombiaemb.org.

Language

The official language of Colombia is Spanish (which they call Castellano, not Español). Colombians have many regional terms, which are collectively known as colombianismos.

English is not widely spoken, although some international business executives speak it. Colombia has a substantial Amerindian population, and the country’s rugged geography

resulted in the evolution of many isolated linguistic groups, many of whom speak only their indigenous languages. An estimated half-million Colombians speak an Amerindian tongue as their first language.

Counting Spanish, the Amerindian tongues, and various imported languages—such as Creole and Romany, the language of the Rom (Gypsies)—linguists have identified ninetyeight languages in Colombia. Of these, twenty are now considered extinct.

The Colombian View

The vast majority (90 percent) of Colombians are Roman Catholic. The constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Protestant groups are making inroads, especially Pentecostalists.

If geography is destiny, then Colombia’s geography accounts for much of the country’s uniqueness. Colombia borders Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Panama. It is the only South American country to have coasts on both the Caribbean and the Pacific. Furthermore, Colombia’s mountainous interior isolates regions from each other. One has to expect diversity in such an environment.

While the United States has a history of intervention throughout Latin America, its effect on Colombia is unique. The United States prompted the removal of Panama from Colombia in 1903 to facilitate the building of the Panama Canal. Today, the United States is increasingly involved in Colombian interior affairs as the central government attempts to regain control of the countryside and reduce narcotics trafficking. Consequently, Colombians see the United States as both a savior and a demon.

As for Colombia’s drug trade, smuggling didn’t start with marijuana and cocaine. The illegal export of Colombian emeralds and exotic birds has been occurring for decades. Smuggling occurs in the other direction as well. Onerous taxes (as high as 36 percent) on imported goods have made it profitable to smuggle consumer goods into Columbia.

*Know Before You Go

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As previously noted, the major hazard to foreign visitors is kidnapping. (Many Colombians have been kidnapped and held for ransom as well.) Colombia is one of the countries where you should secure kidnap insurance before your visit.

Street crime, such as pickpocketing, is common in Colombian cities. Such crimes are usually nonviolent, except when an unwary traveler is drugged. Burundanga is a drug derived from a common Colombian tree. A full dose renders a person unconscious. Burundanga has no taste or odor and can be added to almost anything you put in your mouth: candy, chewing gum, drinks, and even cigarettes. To avoid being drugged, avoid accepting anything from someone you do not know.

Volcanic eruptions occur in the highlands. There are also periodic earthquakes and droughts. Due to vehicle emissions, the air quality in Bogotá is sometimes hazardous.

The highlands of Colombia are elevated enough to cause altitude sickness. Altitude sickness can strike anyone, even if you have never experienced it before. There is no sure prevention except gradual acclimation to high elevation: once you get to 6,000 feet above sea level, spend at least two nights there. Repeat this acclimation period at each increase of 3,000 feet. Alcohol consumption tends to make the symptoms worse. Sunburn is also a danger at high altitudes, because there is less atmosphere to protect you from the sun.

While they are not the pastimes of the upper classes, Colombians have a penchant for diversions that can cause injury or property damage. Urban Colombians like to set aloft hot air balloons made of paper; they often catch fire from

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the lit candle inside, raining down flaming debris. Papeletas are small, triangular bags filled with gunpowder, used in various games; although banned in some cities, they are still omnipresent.

●3 Cultural Orientation

Cognitive Styles: How Colombians Organize and Process Information

Colombia is a large and diverse nation with many cultural and linguistic groups. The following information applies to the majority culture.

In Colombia one perceives an openness to discuss any topic, but do not expect attitudes to change based upon these discussions. Colombians process information primarily on a subjective, associative level unless they have extensive higher education. They tend not to abstract to higher principles but rather treat each situation as a unique experience.

Negotiation Strategies: What Colombians Accept as Evidence

Feelings are the primary source of truth. Colombians’ interpersonal reality is such that they will give you the “truth” as they think it should be or as you would like it to be. Thus, their use of facts is nebulous. For the majority of Colombians, there are no ideologies strong enough to make faith a source of the truth.

Some sociologists believe that Colombians have a high level of uncertainty avoidance, although it is not out of line with other Latin American countries. This makes Colombians averse to risk and hesitant to accept change.

Value Systems: The Basis for Behavior

The effects of the drug cartels cut across all levels of Colombian society. The following three sections identify the Value Systems in the predominant culture—their methods of dividing right from wrong, good from evil, and so forth.

Locus of Decision-Making

There are informal, yet very powerful decision-making groups called roscas. Individuals make their own decisions but are influenced by their need to satisfy their families or groups. Kinship plays a major role in one’s business associations because traditional elements of trust and mutual dependence among relatives are very strong, no matter how distant the relationship. The collectivist mindset is very much in evidence.

Sources of Anxiety Reduction

It is an individual’s role in the social structure and the presence of the extended family that gives a sense of stability to life. This also brings anxiety, as one must be a success in the eyes of both the extended family and society. There is a strong need for consensus in the group, but values differ with the situation, and the rules are learned only by experience.

Issues of Equality/Inequality

The economic and political elite are generally European in heritage. They handle most of the business, commerce, and industry. Society is very class-conscious and is stratified by skin color and class membership, with limited vertical mobility. Colombian women are among the most politically active in Latin America, in spite of cultural restrictions on their social and work behavior. On the other hand, Colombians still have one of the highest masculinity index levels in Latin America, which tends to ossify gender roles.

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polite questions. North Americans typically progress beyond the greeting phase after one or two questions. Expect inquiries as to your health, your trip, your relatives, and any friends or acquaintances you have in common. Don’t rush! Rushing is interpreted as callousness or disrespect.

Titles/Forms of Address

●Do not address a Colombian by his or her first name unless invited to do so. In general, only children, family members, and close friends address each other by their first names.

●See Appendix A for basic information on titles.

●The only professional title in common use is “Doctor” (Doctora for women). However, it is often applied to any accomplished or educated person, whether or not he or she has a PhD. Indeed, the poor often refer to any upper-class person as “Doctor.”

Gestures

●Colombians stand somewhat closer together when conversing than do North Americans. However, Colombians engage in less physical contact during conversations than some South Americans.

●The formality of inland Colombians extends to their mannerisms; they do not engage in expansive gestures and animation. Residents of the coastal regions tend to be more expressive and less formal.

●It is considered impolite to yawn in public.

●Colombians indicate that someone is stingy by tapping their fingers on their elbow.

●The North American “okay” gesture (thumb and forefinger curled into a circle) has a different meaning in Colombia. A Colombian places the circle over his nose to indicate that someone is homosexual.

●Bare feet are acceptable only at the beach. Slippers or sandals should be worn at all other times, even when going to or from the bathroom.

●In a restaurant, some Colombians summon a waiter by raising their hands over their head and clapping. Others use a hissing sound. Neither method is considered courteous, and both should be avoided by foreigners.

Colombia