2014年经济学人 哥伦比亚太平洋地区

Colombia's Pacific region

More than perfume, please

The poverty-stricken Pacific eludes¹ attempts to improve it

A grim view of the ocean

FOR decades, Colombia's masters have told the world, and their own citizens, that they cherish being a Pacific power—and they truly want their poor Pacific region to catch up with more vibrant² places, for example on the Caribbean coast. Getting anyone to believe that is harder.

The latest rallying cry was sounded in the port of Buenaventura by President Juan Manuel Santos on October 25th. He unveiled new details of a 400m development strategy for the Pacific coast, including a pledge of 12m to provide drinking water for every resident of the city. Admitting that people had heard all this before, he vowed³: “This time...it is not a strategy that comes from the capital...it will be implemented⁴ and supervised from here.”

Yet as Colombia booms—the central bank forecasts growth at 5% for 2014—the Pacific part lags. In Buenaventura, the country's second biggest container port, huge ships sail past wood-slat houses where taps flow for three hours a day at most, children are ill-fed and violence is rife⁵. Unemployment in the port exceeds 40%, and elsewhere in the forested, mountainous region things are worse.

Governments have tried to help. Over the past 40 years there have been master plans, policy papers and road maps. Some focus on infrastructure⁶, some on ecology, others on poverty. But they tend to peter out. That is despite the fact that in foreign policy, Colombia holds dear its status as a Pacific nation. It has dreamed for two decades of joining the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum⁷, whose members account for 63% of its trade and 50% of foreign investment. And Colombia founded—along with Mexico, Peru and Chile—the Pacific Alliance trade group which has slashed⁸ tariffs⁹.

As part of the latest Pacific plan, authorities have dusted off old projects, including one for a pipeline¹⁰ and a railway to stretch from oilfields in the east to Buenaventura. Another calls for a “corridor” to link the Caribbean and Pacific by river and road through Choco province.

Such plans need to offer economic gains for ordinary folk and protection for the area's biodiversity, says Luis Gilberto Murillo, a man from Choco whom Mr Santos has asked to head the latest initiative.

But there is mistrust between Pacific residents and the capital. National power-brokers balk¹¹ at letting light-fingered local authorities handle funds. A provincial¹² assembly member from the country's north was banned from politics by Colombia's inspector-general for 13 years after voicing these suspicions in a way deemed racist¹³; he said, in 2012, that “investing money in Choco is like putting perfume on a turd.”

Meanwhile Pacific locals resent plans made in Bogota. “The plans aren't for us, they are for big businessmen,” says Mario Riascos, a community leader in Buenaventura. Acceptance by residents is crucial, as 84% of land in the Pacific region is subject to collective-title rights granted to black and indigenous¹⁴ groups. The introduction of such rights in 1993 was seen as a triumph for the poor, but business leaders say it hurt growth. A port manager in Buenaventura says it makes life much harder for firms needing access to land.

Already the grand plan sounds hollow to some. On November 4th Buenaventura residents protested because some districts have had no water for ten days.

1 eludes   

v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的第三人称单数 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到

参考例句：

• His name eludes me for the moment. 他的名字我一时想不起来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• But philosophers seek a special sort of knowledge that eludes exact definition. 但是，哲学家所追求的是一种难以精确定义的特殊知识。 来自哲学部分

2 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

3 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

4 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

5 rife   

adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的

参考例句：

• Disease is rife in the area.疾病在这一区很流行。
• Corruption was rife before the election.选举之前腐败盛行。

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

7 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

8 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

10 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

11 balk   

n.大方木料；v.妨碍；不愿前进或从事某事

参考例句：

• We get strong indications that his agent would balk at that request.我们得到的强烈暗示是他的经纪人会回避那个要求。
• He shored up the wall with a thick balk of wood.他用一根粗大的木头把墙撑住。

12 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

13 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

14 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。