2024-09-04 10:09:10
The department would be formed from the separation of municipalities from the current departments of Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Cauca and Nariño.
In a move that could reconfigure the political-administrative map of Colombia, Congressmen Cristóbal Caicedo and Gerson Lisímaco Montaño have presented to the House of Representatives a draft Legislative Act that seeks the creation of the Department of the Pacific Coast. This new department would be formed by the separation of municipalities from the current departments of Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Cauca and Nariño.
The project proposes the modification of article 309 of the National Constitution, allowing the formation of this new department that would include the municipalities of Buenaventura, Guapi, López de Micay, Timbiquí, San Andrés de Tumaco, Santa Bárbara de Iscuandé, El Charco, La Tola, Olaya Herrera, Mosquera, Francisco Pizarro, Magüí Payán, Roberto Payán and Barbacoas. The proposed capital for the new department is Buenaventura, one of the main ports of Colombia on the Pacific, but also one of the areas most affected by poverty and lack of infrastructure.
Effective solution?
The project’s promoters argue that the creation of the Pacific Coast Department is one of the most effective solutions to address the financial problems and state neglect faced by municipalities located on the country’s western coast. According to the data presented, the new department would have a population of 889,112 inhabitants and would cover 27% of the territory of Valle del Cauca, as well as 27.3% and 46.7% of Cauca and Nariño, respectively.
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A transitional provision of the project grants the President of the Republic a three-month period to issue the necessary decrees to allow the effective implementation of the new department. This measure seeks to speed up the creation process and quickly establish the administrative and political bases for the operation of the Pacific Coast.
The project to create the Department of the Pacific Coast is added to another initiative presented in July of this year, which seeks the creation of the Department of Surcaribe. The latter, promoted by Congresswoman Dorina Hernández Palomino, responds to the needs for autonomy and development of the municipalities of Magdalena Medio, which have historically suffered from state abandonment and violence.
Surcaribe Department
The Surcaribe Department, whose capital would be Aguachica, would be made up of 28 municipalities and would be home to a population of more than 644,000 people. Like the Pacific Coast project, this proposal includes a transitional power for the president, who would have three months to issue the necessary decrees and 12 months to appoint an interim governor, followed by elections to determine local authorities.
Both projects represent significant attempts at territorial reorganization in Colombia, seeking to respond to the specific needs of regions that have experienced uneven development and low state investment. However, these moves could also face political and social resistance, given the impact they would have on current departments and their power structures.
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