By: Tomas Gomez
Today was my last day at home. Since moving from Colombia to the US to study, I have traveled back home several times, but this time was different. This time, I didn’t come to see my family and friends, or just relax in my hometown; this time I came to investigate and analyze solutions to land-owning inequality, one of the deepest-seated roots that has been driving the internal conflict in Colombia for almost a century.
I have met with congresspeople, activists, functionaries, professors, and other experts in the field to obtain a comprehensive view of the issue and deconstruct all the potential and shortcomings of the Agrarian Reform being implemented by the current government. Carrying out such a project has taught me to see my country in a new light and provided me with academic knowledge that I will use in the future to help transform the reality of my country.
I hope that my research, which I’m conducting and writing in Spanish (I will then translate to English) can be used by the interested citizen to learn more about this critical policy that could seriously transform the socioeconomic landscape of Colombia for the better, and by government officials who could use it as a frame of reference to inform and support policy changes and decisions.