Author

Javier Garay 110 posts 0 comments

Javier Garay is a professor at the Externado University of Colombia. He has written two books on international issues, such as development, after his doctoral dissertation focused on the same topic. Follow him on Twitter @crittiko and through his personal blog, Crittiko.

Elections

Why so many young Colombians support Gustavo Petro

Javier Garay May 8, 2018 1,843

Populist Petro is currently leading in Bogota, among the youngest voters, and in some coastal regions of the country, despite the fact that the candidate has hardly shied away from heralding his preference for a very centralized economic…
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Colombia

Colombia’s Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Is One of Latin America’s False Heroes

Javier Garay Apr 13, 2017 186

EspañolColombia commemorated 69 years of "Bogotazo" this week. It's the name given to the violence that destroyed an important part of the capital city of Bogota after the assassination of political leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán. Much has…
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Featured

What’s Wrong with Colombia’s Business Leaders?

Javier Garay May 23, 2016 18

EspañolOne of the general public's main confusions facing liberalism and capitalism is the assumption that the practice of these ideas will have as much success as the theories and philosophies they are rooted in. That is to say, the…
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Central America

#PanamaPapers: The Larger Problem Lays Beyond Tax Havens

Javier Garay Apr 13, 2016 3

EspañolThe global scandal about the "Panama Papers" requires reflection that goes beyond the superficial. So far, coverage has been limited to which famous personality can be found on the list of people that used offshore companies to…
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Colombia

How Violence against Uber Backfired in Colombia

Javier Garay Apr 4, 2016 16

EspañolBogota's taxi drivers protested Uber last month in a demonstration that ended in a violent clash with police, and the event serves to show the taxi driver's poor standing in the community. People have long known and suffered…
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Elections

Clinton and Trump Offer Only Statism, and America’s Decline

Javier Garay Mar 8, 2016 31

EspañolUS voters showed their preferences in the "Super Tuesday" election on March 1. The results seem to confirm that the Democratic party’s Candidate is Hillary Clinton and that, on the Republican side, it will be Donald Trump. In any…
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Colombia

Colombia: Santos’s Austerity Plan That Wasn’t

Javier Garay Jan 22, 2016 2

Colombia's economic prospects are grim in 2016. A main factor is the drastic fall in oil revenues, which President Juan Manuel Santos's government squandered while oil prices were high. This week, the president announced a supposed…
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Colombia

Earth to Colombians: More Government Means More Taxes

Javier Garay Jan 14, 2016 4

EspañolAs a New Year's resolution, many Colombians should aim to be coherent. At least they should try to understand that someone has to pay the costs of all collectivism. In the first days of 2016, a politically correct majority…
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Argentina

Elections Won’t Save Latin America

Javier Garay Dec 11, 2015 11

EspañolAfter Bogotá, Argentina, and Venezuela, it's time for change in Brazil, Bolivia, and Ecuador, where the president's indefinite reelection was recently approved. Hope is emerging in Latin America to roll back progressive,…
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Argentina

Hold On Libertarians: Macri Hasn’t Slayed the Socialist Leviathan

Javier Garay Dec 7, 2015 2

EspañolAfter Mauricio Macri's victory in Argentina, the idea that Latin America is leaving left-wing populism behind emerged. It might be possible. After all, populism has recently been defeated elsewhere in the region. And it…
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Colombia

Congestion Fees Rub Salt into Bogotá’s Traffic Wound

Javier Garay Nov 30, 2015 26

EspañolCongestion is the norm in Bogotá. If you drive a car during the day, odds are you will be late to your destination, unless you depart hours in advance. The Bogotá mayorship is now trying to deal with the situation by proposing…
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Colombia

Colombian Firms Can’t Even Fire Workers without Begging to the State

Javier Garay Nov 16, 2015 1

EspañolColombia's Labor Minister Luis Eduardo Garzón recently announced that three large companies asked him for permission to fire a total of 8,400 of their workers. The companies, however, denied the claim, which they interpreted as…
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