Drew+Dakin's+Historical+Investigation

Drew Dakin Historical Investigation IB History Year 2

The question posed is "To what extent did Pablo Escobar's drug trade and the death of Escobar affect the Colombian ecnonomy?" This investigation will be based on Pablo Escobar's drug enterprise and his death to see what sort of affect it had on the Colombian economy. The use of Colombian economy receipts, documents, and facts about Escobar's drug trade will all fall into the analysis of this essential question. I will first analyze the state the Colombian economy during and after Escobar's existence, and the actual violence and crime Escobar committed and then put it all together into the picture that answers the essential question.
 * Section A:**


 * Section B:**

"According to many scholars, pundits, and diplomats, the illegal-drug industry harms the Colombian economy" (Holmes 103). In the early 1980's, the Colombian drug trade and organizations initially benefitted capital inflow during a period when lending was tight and that helped stabilize the Colombian economy during the Latin American debt crisis. Illegal drugs were 70% of exports in Colombia during the 1980's. Despite providing initial economic benefits, the drug trade has imposed high costs, such as the war on drugs and security costs. The effect on drugs on political credibility, and, consequently, the economy should not be underestimated. The one section of the economy that really took a tumble due to the drug trade was the coffee industry in Colombia. Many economists “and others estimate that real income in the coffee sector has fallen by more than 50 percent” (Holmes 108). Despite an otherwise favorable investment climate, Colombia has become an extremely dangerous place to do business with the multiple forms of violence, which has reduced the attractiveness of Colombian investments. Many sectors of the Colombian economy such as agriculture, construction, the environment, land ownership, and others have been affected negatively due to illegal drugs. Many farmers during the late 1980’s and early 90’s “reallocated cropland so that they can grow illegal drugs” (Holmes 109). Because of this, further investments in product distribution and land improvements are not made, making it much more difficult to grow and sell legal crops. The United Nations Drug Control Program highlights the opportunity costs of the illegal drug trade, including the loss of investment in legitimate enterprises as farmers funnel their savings into drug cultivation and production, and a loss of investment in human resources as children participate in the drug trade. In the short term, increased drug incomes boost the construction sector. But according to a survey of existing research, “in the long run, there is evidence of a collapse of asset and real estate values.  Any gains made by the lower class in construction just disappeared during subsequent busts. The illegal drug significantly affected land ownership. In the 1980’s, “during the ‘land counterreform,’ the narco-traffickers bought large parcels of land as legal investments, which increased the land ownership concentration” (Holmes 112). Since the mid 1980’s, “drug money has funded the purchase of 4-6 million hectares (10-15 million acres)” (Holmes 112). Even Pablo Escobar’s mother, Hermilda, knew what was about to come when Escobar was killed on December 2, 1993. Violence was bound to unleash after Pablo’s death. Hermila wished to “Let all the pain and bloodshed die with Pablo” (Bowden 4). Pablo Escobar was born in Antioquia, Colombia right near Medellin, Colombia in 1949. He grew up surrounded by the terror and violence in the hills of Medellin, “…and absorbed the stories of Desquite, Sangrenegra, and Tirofijo, all of them full-blown legends by the time he was old enough… Pablo would outstrip them all by far” (Bowden 14). He started out with stealing cars and other petty crimes, and he had his own little hustling business as a teenager. He would steal items, fix them up if needed, and then sell them to various buyers. He was notorious for stealing head stones at cemeteries, sand blasting them clean, and then reselling them. He then transitioned to selling marijuana as a small time drug dealer and smoker. After climbing up the scale in the marijuana business, he and his fellow colleagues realized cocaine was a big time money maker and would make him and the “others richer than their wildest fantasies…” (Bowden 22) Pablo Escobar owes much of his success to his nation’s unique culture and history, “indeed to its very soil and climate, with its bountiful harvests of coca and marijuana” (Bowden 15). He was a vicious criminal but held a social conscience. In 1982, Escobar was elected as a deputy/alternative representative to the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia's Congress, and he was part of the Colombian Liberal Party. He used this position to weave in and out of possible drug busts to avoid him being arrested. He used bribery and corruption to eliminate countless government officials and have his colleagues enter into politics. Pablo Escobar also planned out the assassination of Colombian presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galan After the assassination of Luis Carlos Galán, the administration of César Gaviria moved against Escobar and the drug cartels. Eventually, the government negotiated with Escobar, convincing him to surrender and cease all criminal activity in exchange for a reduced sentence and preferential treatment during his captivity. In 1992 United States Operators from Delta Force, and Centra Spike joined together for an all-out manhunt for Escobar. They trained and advised a special Colombian police task force, known as the Search Bloc, which had been created to locate Escobar. The war against Escobar ended on December 2 1993, amid another attempt to elude the Search Bloc.

Killing Pablo is a secondary source written by Mark Bowden detailing the efforts by both the United States government and the Colombian government to stop illegal activities committed by Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and his subordinates. Bowden originally reported this story in a 31 part series published in The Philadelphia Inquirer and in a companion documentary of the same title that aired on CNN. The value of this source is what did Pablo Escobar during the glory years of his drug cartel and how the death of Pablo Escobar affected the Colombian economy. This source will be analyzed thoroughly but it's limited due to the book is predominantly about the hunt for Pablo Escobar.
 * Section C:**
 * Bowden, Mark. //Killing Pablo//. New York City, New York: Penguin Books Group, 2001. Print.**

**Holmes, Jennifer S., Gutierriez Amin, and Kevin M. Curtin. //Guns, Drugs &Development in Colombia//. Austin: University of Texas, 2008. Print. ** //Guns, Drugs &Development in Colombia// is a secondary source written by several college professors in the fields of Geography, Political Economy, and Political Science. Quantitative data of the Colombian economy and its development are essential to this project and is the value of this source. The information and documents in the book are limited from 1990-2001 but still reveals the state the Colombian economy during the 1980's and 1990's. This source will only be focusing on one chapter which revolves all around how the Colombian economy was affected by the illegal drug trade starting in the 1980's.