Colombia’s first leftist president says war on drugs has failed

[Jalether]

CIA moving in motion right now to eliminate this guy

That's such a dirty word

It's called liberation, CIA will deliver its special brand of freedom to the people of colombia

 

[ColdSlither]

Get to work p*ssy.

Safety nets, future proof skill and opportunities are what the people need

I was off the clock.

And none of that is true. If you feel that strongly about what a bunch of Colombians are doing in their country, shut the fukk up instead of typing angry and emotional bytch ass posts, let the shyt fail or succeed, and come back in a few years to brag if it fails. Out here sounding like an old ass man screaming get off my lawn.

 

[O³ (O cubed)]

Countdown before the (US sponsored) coup.

 

[Bugzbunny129]

More people died in america from bad drugs/not being able to get proper doses since the war on drugs began than casualties of every america war, combined. Thats not counting lives lost to jail.

It def failed. Fentnyol is a different type of animal altogether and the numbers will double every year on out.

 

[SadimirPutin]

Is he wrong?

I would tell anyone to read the Cartel Trilogy by Don Winslow..It is 3 books based on fictional drug cartels but it is so well researched that it might as well be a historical documentary.

 

[ColdSlither]

An anti-leftist right-wing president just completely destroyed Sri Lanka and @Mowgli claimed the guy was a leftist cause Sri Lanka has "socialist" in its official name.

They always want to talk about how some shyt is going to fail. Ignoring the fact that all of that "socialist" stuff, played a huge part in this country becoming the envy of the world from 50s to the end of the 70's. So we know exactly what works and how to make it work.

 

[Gunz&Butta]

CIA moving in motion right now to eliminate this guy

Yep, he's going to die of "natural cause" very soon

 

[FAH1223]

 

[Scustin Bieburr]

If they legalize coke their GDP will explode from the sudden surge in tourists

They can eat off pharmaceuticals too as the drug can be studied and its ingredients used for medicines you can't get in the us

 

[ISO]

the birth of organized crime which still persists decades later.

corrupting politicians, government officials and making law enforcement even worse than what it was/is.

real talk, prohibition was a cancer that was never fully cured.

FACTS

 

[ISO]

shyt is crazy reading about late 19th century and early 20th century American cities where you could get a dose of cocaine or heroin from the pharmacy and they had opium dens where happy endings and pipe smoking was the regular

 

[The God Poster]

shyt is crazy reading about late 19th century and early 20th century American cities where you could get a dose of cocaine or heroin from the pharmacy and they had opium dens where happy endings and pipe smoking was the regular

Sound like you got that itch

 

[bnew]

 

[bnew]

Colombia’s leftwing government unveils tax-the-rich plan to tackle poverty

President Gustavo Petro’s proposed legislation could raise $11.5bn a year with measures including wealth tax and levy on oil exports

www.theguardian.com

Colombia’s leftwing government unveils tax-the-rich plan to tackle poverty​

Megan Janetsky in Bogotá
Fri 26 Aug 2022 05.30 EDT Last modified on Fri 26 Aug 2022 11.10 EDT

President Gustavo Petro’s proposed legislation could raise $11.5bn a year with measures including wealth tax and levy on oil exports

President Gustavo Petro aims to channel the taxes raised in anti-poverty efforts, free public university and other social welfare programs. Photograph: Luisa González/Reuters


Colombia’s new leftist government has proposed an ambitious plan to tax the rich in an effort to combat poverty in one of the most unequal countries in the Americas.

If implemented, the Piketty-esque legislation proposed by President Gustavo Petro could raise more than $11.5bn annually to fund anti-poverty efforts, free public university and other social welfare programs.

Petro, a former urban guerrilla who became the country’s first leftist leader, rose to power on a raft of promises centered around social progress at a time when the South American country is still plagued by pandemic-fueled economic turmoil.

If passed, the plan would raise taxes on the country’s highest earners – approximately 2% of Colombia’s population – cut tax benefits for the richest and fight tax evasion.

The tax hikes would progressively increase as income increases. It would add an annual wealth tax on savings and property above $630,000, and would add a 10% tax on some of Colombia’s biggest exports – oil, coal and gold – after prices rise above a certain threshold.

“This should not be viewed as a punishment or a sacrifice,” said Petro. “It is simply a solidarity payment that someone fortunate makes to a society that has enabled them to generate wealth.”

The wealth tax was among Petro’s chief promises during his campaign and would mark a significant step toward achieving his bold policy agenda, which has inspired hope in some and skepticism in others.

It is also part of a larger debate playing out around the world at a time of deepening global inequalities.

“This is not just Colombia,” said economist Álvaro Pardo. “This is a large conversation in any country – the ideas of equity and progress, the idea that those who have the most have to pay more. These are universal concepts we’re drawing upon.”

Petro’s proposal has prompted alarm in the country’s private sector and political elite who argue the tax will dampen investment, push job creators out of the country and – according to the arch-conservative former president Álvaro Uribe – potentially deepen poverty.

“We support all these efforts for the country to overcome poverty,” Uribe said following a meeting with Petro this summer. “But not at the cost of withering away the private sector.”

But at the height of the country’s decades-long armed conflict, Uribe imposed a similar temporary tax in order to fund his war with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) guerrilla group.

Last year, amid stewing resentment for Petro’s predecessor, Iván Duque, another tax reform proposal ignited months of anti-government protests, which became symbolic of deeper social unrest and endemic inequalities.

“It was sort of a perfect storm from political opposition to the government, post-pandemic economic hardship and the government’s response,” said Sergio Guzmán, director of Colombia Risk Analysis. “Under this government, things are different.”

A supporter displays a banner saying ‘Don’t let us down’ at the inauguration of President Gustavo Petro in Bogotá on 7 August. Photograph: Mauricio Dueñas Castañeda/EPA

This bill, he said, “is more progressive in nature”, doing away with key exemptions that he and economists say have allowed richer individuals to pay lower taxes than the average Colombian.

It’s also more permanent than other wealth taxes. The measure will now have to go through congress, where it is likely to pass.

The proposal was a welcome move for many Colombians who have felt like they have been on the outside looking in.

Marlon Mendoza, an Afro-Colombian entrepreneur on the Caribbean coast, was one of 1.6 million Colombians who, during the pandemic, were knocked out of the middle class and back into poverty.

“The poor got poorer, and the rich got richer,” he said.
He went from having an office and a home in the city of Cartagena to returning to the unpaved streets of his town of birth on the outskirts of the city, struggling paycheck to paycheck.

Some observers warn that the tax plan will only address the tip of the iceberg.

Pardo said: “The challenge is gigantic because it means breaking a structure that has been in place for decades, a structure that favors rich sectors and big companies. It’s going to be very difficult.”

But it’s that painful growth that needs to happen, says Mendoza.

“This is a new idea. Human beings, not just Colombians, we’ve gotten used to the status quo. Down the line, if that thing is hurting us, it’s hard to branch away from what we’re used to.” he said. “But if we don’t do that, there will never be change.”

 

[RedCloakBlackWraithe]

this is the way south america legalizes their coke market, arab world legalizes their heroin market. brings peace to each nation by virtue of government sold and taxed narcotics. penalized your own citizens for having a drug dependency though so only the outsiders coming in indulge heavily while diverting the funds made from said drugs to healthcare,education, infrastructure and energy and tech.