Sugar Cane in Colombia

Today we rode from Alcala in the Zona Cafetera along the Valle de Cauca that is the heart of the sugar industry in Colombia – hours of riding and nothing but sugar. The climate here is such that sugar grows all year round and is harvested constantly and transported to the processors in enormous fleets of “Tren Cañero” – cane trains – that menace the roads with five trailer behemoths.

Sugar is an industry with its tentacles wrapped around the political process that is so typical. I was tempted to say “so typical in these countries” but the process is no different in US States and Congress. An example.

The owners of land in this area amassed more land and power during La Violencia from 1946 onwards when politics exploded and the FARC took to the hills to fight on and resist. In this period millions of people were forcibly removed from around 100,000 separate properties and now one conglomerate owns the majority of the land. To bolster demand the sugar lobby has maneuvered the government to mandate sugar ethanol be mixed with gasoline. The lobby has strong media ties and has strong ties to the state, supported the last few Presidents, and helped a lot of congress get elected. Sound familiar? Cut and replace “sugar” with “corn” and this is identical to the US.

Perhaps one important difference. Maybe in the US we can claim to have countervailing forces that help prevent this level of wholesale government absorption by business interests. We have a strong and independent press that is focussed on revealing corruption and holding officials and companies to high standards of ethics and legal compliance. Oh never mind – the US is like Colombia.