"Half a Miracle:" An Excellent Contemporary Article About Medellín's Urban Revival in 'Foreign Policy'

Here is another sign that that matter of urban development in Medellín is still of interest to North American scholars. Francis Fukuyama and Seth Colby have published this critical but inspiring account, "Half a Miracle," in the May/June issue of Foreign Policy. It is a must read for those interested in Western Hemisphere development: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/04/25/half_a_miracle?page=0,0

My remarks? First, I am on the one hand proud of the progress outlined in the story because I see Medellín's mayoralty and public works companies continuing to take responsibility for their own city, tussling for stronger infrastructure and deeper social integration. But I am also let down by the matter of the recent spike back upward in the city's homicide rate, which the article attributes to the extradition of Don Berna. What I see there is that, as with the assassination of Pablo Escobar in the mid-90s, every time the top boss of a given age gets ousted, the superstructure facade of peace and order in Medallo again crumbles, leaving us back trying to quell the vying for dominance between little boys with guns. I'm still thinking critically about how that cyclical problem can be solved... What a perennial stumper.