The Possibilities of Development Keep on Sailing the Canal del Dique : A case study of the difficulties of achieving post development in Santa Lucía Colombia

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2012
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en
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The human made Canal del Dique, a branch of the Magdalena River located in the north of Colombia is the protagonist of this research; through it the underdevelopment lived by the neighbouring population of Santa Lucía will be unbraided. The Canal has been the reason of implementation of many government technologies since the birth of the state of Colombia because of being an advantageous path for transportation of exportable natural resources due to the connectivity it offers between the port of Cartagena de Indias and inner country. By arguing economic development a large quantity of resources has been spent in a promotion of the navigability of the Canal, these government tactics for a capitalization of nature have not only been poorly executed but have also proven to leave a side the important social component within their planning. The consequence of these deficient governmentalities in the integration of the medium and the population has been situations as the overflow of the Canal del Dique in 2010 and the consequent tragedy lived by Santa Lucía. Moreover, the rise of the drying of wetlands and the expansion of the African oil palm with the excuse of promoting local agricultural development have been proven to alter the natural balance of the region and consequently influencing the causes of the overflow. In addition to this, Santa Lucía has also affronted other situations that have actively affected its development; it is situated in what until a few years a go used to be paramilitary territory. The Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) had control of the Canal del Dique for the transport of coca that would later be trafficked, meaning that Santa Lucía was also under their rule of terror. Furthermore the power of the AUC achieved a Captured Reconfiguration of the State as their appointing of political clerks and their involvement within the health system has proven. This unbraiding of the reasons of underdevelopment lived by the population of Santa Lucía allows a fertile ground for a reconceptualization of a successful development within a post development perspective argued by Arturo Escobar (1995). This means that development should come from a local understanding of what they believe should be achieved and through a self planned path of action. After visiting Santa Lucía and performing semi structured interviews was concluded that the scarcity of the town and the lack of completion of a basic level of capabilities means that the citizens are not able to develop elaborated strategies for post development; they want education, health, infrastructure, all basic capabilities for a development of basic rights included within Nussbaum list (2000). Therefore a post development strategy is only possible within communities that have their basic rights and capabilities met. What this research has achieved is recognition of the reasons of underdevelopment in Santa Lucia in the hope that this acknowledgment of the truth could be converted into fertile ground for change cultivated by the population of the town.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen