Colombia: fronteras terrestres, vecindad e integración

Abstract

"This document analyzes Colombia's border policy by making a recount of commercial and diplomatic relations with neighboring states. Furthermore, this paper makes a detailed analysis of the hemisphere's political context, as well as all the progress and setbacks regarding integration and cooperation agreements between countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The study reveals that the new efforts towards integration in the region have generated a weakening of the existing groups, thus increasing regional fragmentation. In addition to the latter, the study found that the rise of opposing poles in the continent's political spectrum, threaten to polarize the region and transfer geopolitical interests of extra-regional actors to it. The paper also concludes that Colombia is facing a series of challenges: security, presence of the State and development of border areas, while working towards the integration of those areas with the Nation. The paper recommends that the efforts to revert all border issues and the reconstruction of neighborly relations be implemented as a national priority, as well as promoting a Latin American and Caribbean axis of cooperation and convergence. Thus, the paper encourages participating in the redefinition and structuring of regional integration, consultation and cooperation."