AMERICAS

Infrastructure and Housing: What do the candidates have to say on the matter?

The biggest electoral challenge in Colombia is already less than 5 weeks away from being carried out

Infrastructure and Housing: What do the candidates have to say on the matter?

Colombia will choose the successor of Juan Manuel Santos and the polarization of the country recalls the time of conservatives and liberals. Now the candidates in the final stretch play with all the available tools, but in the debates these weapons become more indirect and negative statements, than in proposing changes. However, all candidates have proposals and plans to govern. Infrastructure and housing are two issues that have proposals, but being not very susceptible to creating debate are not essential in televised confrontations.

Leer en español: Infraestructura y Vivienda: Ambiciones de los candidatos

But let's get to know the subject, so we can debate it. Colombia, although it has improved its infrastructure, in all aspects, in the last twenty years, it continues to be relegated to other countries in the region. Airports, ports, roads, have been modernized, but the only way to bring progress to the whole country is to bring to the 21st century all those infrastructures that were left in the past. Housing in the country suffers a very high deficit, in addition the cost exceeds the opportunities to acquire a decent home.

What do you propose for the period 2018-2022?

Everything that the construction sector implies – infrastructure, investment, economic growth – occupies one of the main areas of GDP. Now during the presidential campaign, the plans are ambitious, but even for this same quality they can become difficult to carry out.

Iván Duque

The candidate of the democratic center proposes to extend the term for financing of housing at national level from 20 to 35 years, with which not only the families benefit, but also the private sector to be able to invest in greater quantity. Duque assures that this change would benefit all sectors, but especially strata 2, 3 and 4.

It proposes to generate 1.5 million housing solutions in the four-year period. For this, it would build 900,000 new homes and improve 600,000 more.

In terms of infrastructure, it proposes to continue with the major projects and incentivize the railway sector that reduces costs and moves more per trip.

German Vargas

The former vice president recalls that he was a great promoter of the Mi Casa Ya program for households with incomes between 1 and 2 minimum wages and also in the version for households with incomes between 3 and 4 salaries, they could purchase housing. In addition, it promises not only to continue them, but to promote them to generate greater coverage.

As a goal, it proposes the construction in 4 years of 1,200,000 new units: 600,000 units of Social Interest Housing (VIS), including 100,000 for rural sectors.

The candidate knows very well that the 4G projects must go ahead, and promote other ways that project greater connectivity in the country.

Sergio Fajardo

From the Colombian Coalition movement, we want to encourage the construction of new housing, focused on poor and vulnerable households, with spaces and quality materials and decent urban and social equipment. Attending the qualitative deficit Fajardo wants to promote a program to improve the quality of urban and rural housing. For this, the green candidate wants to facilitate access to credit to Colombian households.

Accelerate the priority transport infrastructure projects for the country: consolidate the works of the fourth generation roads (4G). In addition, it wants to improve the infrastructure of other sectors such as education.

Humberto de la Calle

The former head of the negotiating team with the FARC, aims to connect all regions of the country, through the priority development of secondary and tertiary roads.

The street is ambitious in its proposal of multimodal transport, since it is not only the railway development but also the recovery of navigability in the Magdalena River and other waterways.

Like the candidates who worked with Santos, the projects of major road corridors in the country should continue, according to the proposal of the Liberal candidate.

Gustavo Petro

For the candidate who most inclines towards the left, the priority of the road infrastructure is in the tertiary roads that constitute more than 60% of the national grid; the educational infrastructure; health, drinking water and basic sanitation and the development of an electrical infrastructure linked to clean energies.

The multimodal transport Petro, also sees it as the opportunity for agroindustrial development and national and international trade in a perspective of sustainability, efficiency, affordability and adaptation and mitigation to the effects of climate change, as it reaches more areas, which also It has wealth in the production of raw materials and food.

The truly ambitious candidates forget that multimodal transport projects have been proposed paper since the 1990 elections. This is because negotiating with unions becomes a difficult task. The union with the greatest difficulty in transport is that of Truckers and Transporters. Although the infrastructure has improved, the development of secondary and tertiary roads must be prioritized, since development can only reach isolated places when they can be connected to other regions.

More than the construction of housing in quantity, the solution to the quality problem must be sought. According to data from the IDB, in its report titled "I'm looking for a house for rent," the population of Latin America does not find housing, according to its income, which generates the effect of renting and leasing. Fajardo and Petro, are the only candidates who in their infrastructure proposal speak of other sectors than transport. This does not mean that others do not address the issue, but infers more internally connected government plans. And not a display of proposals alien to each other.

 

Latin American Post | Carlos Eduardo Gómez Avella

Translated from "Infraestructura y Vivienda: Ambiciones de los candidatos"

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button