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SIZE OF GOVERNMENT BUDGETS 
 
 
"En Colombia, el gasto público que hace el Gobierno Nacional se ejecuta a través de dos tipos de entidades: por una parte, están las empresas industriales, comerciales y sociales del Estado caso Ecopetrol, Telecom, el ISS, etc cuya asignación se determina a través de un decreto del Ministerio de Hacienda; y por otra parte, están los ministerios, departamentos administrativos, y demás entidades del gobierno central caso Ministerio de Transporte, Ministerio de Protección Social, INVIAS, DANE, ICBF y SENA, etc para las cuales el gasto se define en el Presupuesto General de la Nación que el Ejecutivo tramita anualmente para aprobación del Congreso de la República" (http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/MAM-1044058, viewed on august 16. 2015)
 
In July 2014 was passed in Congress the general budget of the nation which would come into effect from 2015, this budget is 220 billion dollars, and is an increase of 8.5%.
 
References (Viewed on august 16, 2015):

http://www.minhacienda.gov.co/portal/page/portal/HomeMinhacienda/presupuestogeneraldelanacion/LeyPresupuestalPGN/Tab/TEXTO%20LEY%20PGN%202015%20arreglado.pdf

https://www.dnp.gov.co/programas/inversiones-y-finanzas-publicas/Datos-y-Estadisticas/Inversion%20Regional/Paginas/Regionalizacion-Ajustada-Inversion-2014.aspx

http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/MAM-1044058

http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento-2013/DR-871791

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WORLD OIL, CURRENCY, AND LABOR MARKETS
 
In first place, the price of the oil has been reduced throughout this year, consequently the devaluation of the peso against the dollar is growing, because the higher income of the nation is this natural resource, "La combinación del aumento de la producción de Irán y el alza de la tasa de interés de la Reserva Federal podrían llevar su precio hasta los US$30."(http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/economia/vendra-mas-oscuridad-petrolera-articulo-579101, viewed on august 16, 2015), now a days the BRENT price is $49,21, and the WTI price is $42,17.
 
In second place, the labor markert in colombia has been increased throughout this decade, but  experts say there is no effective system of training of the workforce, consequently Colombian companies do not cover their vacancies effectively, "Para el BID, esta falta de formación para el trabajo hace que Colombia haya tenido el segundo nivel más bajo de productividad laboral en América Latina en el 2013, con 11,26 dólares por hora trabajada (Brasil es el último con 10,78 dólares), lo que resta competitividad a la economía del país" (http://www.portafolio.co/economia/creacion-empleo-colombia-2014-2, viewed on august, 2015).
 
 
References (Viewed on august 16, 2015):

http://datos.bancomundial.org/indicador/EG.USE.COMM.FO.ZS/countries/1W-CO?display=graph

http://www.worldoil.com/#industry-at-a-glance

http://datos.bancomundial.org/indicador/SL.TLF.CACT.FE.ZS/countries/1W-CO?display=graph

http://datos.bancomundial.org/indicador/SL.TLF.CACT.MA.ZS/countries/1W-CO?display=graph

http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/economia/vendra-mas-oscuridad-petrolera-articulo-579101

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LOCATION AND SEVERITY OF TERRORIST ACTIVITIES
 
"Un reciente informe sobre el fenómeno del terrorismo en el mundo, no deja muy bien parado al país, al ubicarlo en la casilla 16 sobre 162 y concluir que pese al proceso de paz adelantado por el Gobierno Nacional y la guerrilla de las Farc, la situación sigue siendo muy preocupante"(http://www.elcolombiano.com/en-terrorismo-colombia-esta-entre-los-20-peores-del-mundo-LM842793, viewed on august 16, 2015).
 
In Colombia since 1964 which is the date of creation of the FARC, this nation can not finished this social problem with the war or negotiation, billions of dollars have been invested over the time to finish this conflict,  this war has claimed thousands of lives of Colombians and foreigners; Now a days the colombian government have negotiations with this guerrilla in order to end this problem, but in the last days according to a soldier video, FARC attack a army helicpter, and throught this year the attack has been repetitive.
 
References (Viewed on august 16, 2015):

https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/es/operations/colombia/article/informe-iecah-pese-una-mejor%C3%ADa-durante-las-negociaciones-de-paz-la

http://www.elcolombiano.com/en-terrorismo-colombia-esta-entre-los-20-peores-del-mundo-LM842793

http://www.policia.gov.co/imagenes_ponal/dijin/revista_criminalidad/vol49/06.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LOCAL, STATE AND NATIONAL ELECTIONS 
 
This year in Colombia is the national elections Mayors, Governors, councilors, and others, the Bogota City Hall is being led by two candidates, Enrique Penalosa with 31.4% and 28% Rafael Pardo, "Tanto Peñalosa como Pardo han hablado en los últimos meses de la posibilidad de una alianza, pero eso cada día se ve más lejano. Peñalosa, precisamente, ha pedido que se realice una encuesta para conocer cuál tiene la mayor intención de voto, pero Pardo rechaza ese mecanismo de consulta. Por otra parte, otras encuestas evidencian un triple empate técnico entre Clara López, Peñalosa y Pardo, lo que demuestra que la carrera por la alcaldía de Bogotá está más que reñida" (http://www.eltiempo.com/bogota/encuesta-de-datexco-entre-penalosa-y-pardo/16233735, viewed on august 16, 2015)
 
References (Viewed on august 16, 2015):

http://www.registraduria.gov.co/?page=2015_Inscripcion_de_candidatos

http://www.eltiempo.com/bogota/encuesta-de-datexco-entre-penalosa-y-pardo/16233735

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Number, severity, and location of government protest

 

The protests are compound to gather people at the same point and walk for a common good.

 

In Colombia people make protests just to be heard by the government. The protests more common y this country is for sector such as agriculture, sports, education and transport.

 

In the industry this protests affect a lot because people make disturbs in the city when their soccer club lose a match, so that kind of scandals alter the citizens and make them paranoid about this topic.

 

 

http://www.eltiempo.com/noticias/protestas-y-manifestaciones

http://www.eltiempo.com/bogota/paro-de-taxistas-transmision-del-retorno-de-bogotanos-a-casa/16168188

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Number of patents

 

Is a tittle that the state granted to the inventor of a product as recognition for create an invention and waste time on it and it generate improvements in the humanity.

The benefit is that the person, who is granted the tittle, can generate income during the next 20 years after the creation.

 

http://www.sic.gov.co/drupal/patentes

http://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/es/can/can012es.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Environmental protection laws

 

 

In Bogota there are orders to defend the environment, that mention that people have to control the pollution of environment and search an improvement  and the conservation of natural resources that idea is to protect the healthy of all the population of this city almost of all the nation territory .

 

http://www.alcaldiabogota.gov.co/sisjur/normas/Norma1.jsp?i=9018

https://www.minambiente.gov.co/images/AsuntosambientalesySectorialyUrbana/pdf/Politìcas_de_la_Dirección/Pol%C3%ADtica_de_Prevención_y_Control_de_la_Contaminación_del_Aire.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

POLITICAL, GOVERNMENTAL, AND LEGAL FORCES

"Federal, state, local, and foreign governments are major regulators, deregulators, subsidizers, employers, and customers of organizations. Political, governmental, and legal factors, therefore, can represent key opportunities or threats for both small and large organization" 

Government regulation or deregulations in Colombia

 

 “A person or his legally-responsible representative must be domiciled in Colombia to engage in the following customs services: customs brokerage, postal and courier services, merchandise warehousing, merchandise transportation under customs control, international cargo agent, ‘Permanent Customs User’ or ‘High Frequency Exporter’ (Decree 2685 of 1999, articles 74 and 76)”. The Andean Community (Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Bolivia)

“South American organization founded to encourage industrial, agricultural, social, and trade cooperation. Recently, with the new cooperation agreement with Mercosur, the Andean Community gained four new associate members: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. These four Mercosur members were granted associate membership by the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in an enlarged session with the Commission (of the Andean Community) on July 7, 2005. This moves reciprocates the actions of Mercosur, which granted associate membership to all the Andean Community nations by virtue of the Economic Complementarity Agreements (Free Trade agreements) signed between the CAN and individual Mercosur members.

The regulatory and deregulatory situations are a political concern, in which governments are exposing their interests in developing certain structures or policies to demonstrate how remarkable are this activities in the economy of the country.

 

The regulations and deregulations affect the industry of soccer club because the policies that the government is establishing are setting a limit to the companies which activities weren’t being controlled because the monopoly they had.

 

SOURCE.

http://www.state.gov/e/eb/rls/othr/ics/2013/204622.htm

https://www.icphso.org/oldfiles/2007pdf/presentations/LatinAmericaLawsRegs.pdf

Changes in tax laws in Colombia

 

The tax in all the countries over the globe use to change, and there are many factors that make this type of decisions to take place, as well as the sector to which they are applying to.

 

“The corporate income tax rate is 25% for all Colombian firms and branches or permanent establishments (PEs) of foreign companies. The rate does not apply to consortia, which generally are part of administrative contracts with government agencies; instead, the individual partners in the consortia pay tax“.

“The rate on foreign companies that do not have a branch or PE in Colombia is 33%. Companies located in free trade zones are subject to a special 15% corporate income tax rate. The CREE is levied in addition to the corporate tax, at a rate of 9% on net income for the first three years (i.e. to 2015); thereafter, the CREE will be reduced to 8%. CREE taxpayers are exempt from the payroll taxes on wages and other payments (about 9% of wages/salaries included in payroll) with respect to payroll for employees that earn 10 times the minimum wage or less per month”.

 

This variable affects all the industries, because all of them have to pay a tax every year or every month in order to continue working under the law, making of the tax one of their most important depts.

 

Source:

www.documents.worldbank.org: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/1995/01/439835/economic-reforms-colombia-regulation-deregulation-1990-94#

http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Tax/dttl-tax-colombiaguide-2014.pdf

Special tariffs 

 

Special tariffs are those ones that apply for specific situations or specific businesses. This tariffs are composed of some facilities, od discounts in wich the business itself can do several activities to reduce the tax, as making some significant donation to a special cause.

 

“Ecuador announced a 21% tariff on imports from Colombia and a 7% tariff on imports from Peru on January 5, due to currency devaluations in those countries as well as a strengthening U.S. dollar. Correa has said that Ecuador is in a “financial straight jacket” since it cannot control the value of its currency, which puts it at a disadvantage to its neighbours. Ecuador adopted the dollar in 2000 following the collapse of its national currency, the sucre”.

 

The example shown before is only one of the hundreds of the exemptions that the government does to help the different industries to perform a legal tax rates payment, on order to help the community, or to have a special benefit such as discounts.

 

Source:

 http://www.cuencahighlife.com/correa-justifies-new-import-tariffs-on-colombian-and-peruvian-imports-colombian-tariff-is-reduced-after-complaints/

http://translate.google.com.co/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.bogotaemprende.com/contenido/contenido.aspx%3FconID%3D4060%26catID%3D774&prev=search

Political actions committees

 

 “March 30, 2015 - Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, concluded a tour of Cuba, Colombia, Nicaragua, and Guatemala, from 24 to 26 March, the end of which he held a meeting with ministers Foreign Central American Integration System (SICA), which was held in Guatemala, with whom held very productive talks”.

 

“A popular term for a political committee organized for the purpose of raising and spending money to elect and defeat candidates. Most PACs represent business, labor or ideological interests. PACs can give $5,000 to a candidate committee per election (primary, general or special). They can also give up to $15,000 annually to any national party committee, and $5,000 annually to any other PAC. PACs may receive up to $5,000 from any one individual, PAC or party committee per calendar year. A PAC must register with the FEC within 10 days of its formation, providing name and address for the PAC, its treasurer and any connected organizations. Affiliated PACs are treated as one donor for the purpose of contribution limits”.

 

According to the last argument, some of the PAC´s in Colombia are focused in social investment, cultural development, improving sports, and some others that may cause an impact over a long term period.

 

Finally the service sector in which soccer club is performing its activities is not affected because they are constituted as a company and not as a PAC which are the ones that are evolving in matters of social, and some other general improvements by the purpose of helping.

 

Source: 

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://spanish.larouchepac.com/node/10874&prev=search

https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacfaq.php

factbook, c. w. (2011, january 01). indexmundi. Retrieved fabruary 16, 2015, from www.indexmundi.com

http://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?c=co&v=25

   Legislation on equal employment

 

The Government is in charge to regulate an equal employment market; it means to have fair rules on the labor market. Basically, they control, regulate, stimulate and promote to have optimal and equitable conditions for working through legislation of laws.

Ministerio de trabajo is the organization in the head of controlling all the discriminations, and unfair situations.

Also the Codigo Sustantivo del Trabajo have been changed on 29th of 2011, on favor of the equal employment, and new article says: "ARTICULO  10. IGUALDAD DE LOS TRABAJADORES. Modificado por el art. 2, Ley 1496 de 2011. Todos los trabajadores son iguales ante la ley, tienen las mismas proteccion y garantías, y, en consecuencia, queda abolida toda distinción jurídica entre los trabajadores por razón del carácter intelectual o material de la labor, su forma o retribución, salvo las excepciones establecidas por la Ley.” (Trabajo, 2011)

Based in that, all employees have the same rights and same conditions toward jobs, so there must not be any impediment for workers to have a job for their race, gender or age.

 

   Level of government Subsidies

Some sectors are affected by the economic changes primarily and other causes, in responds of that, Governments provide some part of their budget to subsidies, which are economic incentives to those impacted industries, due to stabilize and help them to endure through crisis time. Those incentives can be represented as a low tax interest, low loan rates, financial support, and other types of benefits. Its main purpose is to bring better quality and conditions for all industries, and it will help with the social and economic progress for the nation.

Nowadays in Colombia the government has different kinds of subsidies; there are housings subsidies, educational subsidies, and specific industries subsidies and so on.  The government invests usually in those small and medium companies that are developing to help to succeed and compete with established and foreign firms in the economy. In terms of industries, the agriculture is the most affected by the several reasons, therefore, the government every year try to have an agreement with farmers for the amount of money that is going to be for subsidies.

Subsidios se quedan cortosPese al aumento en el presupuesto, los líderes de los movimientos campesinos dicen que las cuentas del Ministerio de Agricultura para los subsidios no son suficientes.

“Mientras el jefe de la cartera, Rubén Darío Lizarralde, calcula recursos por $1,5 billones para cumplir los compromisos adquiridos con los campesinos después del paro agrario, en las cuentas de la Mesa de Unidad Agropecuaria este presupuesto rondaría los $2 billones, sin tener en cuenta la partida presupuestal de $1,2 billones para la condonación de deudas, con la que según César Pachón, dirigente de la Dignidad Papera, se comprometió el Gobierno Nacional. El ranking de subsectores que canalizaron, a través de manifestaciones, el apoyo del Estado lo lidera el cafetero que consiguió que del presupuesto del Minagricultura se le asignaran recursos por $1,4 billones para darle continuidad al Protección de Ingreso al Cultivador (PIC).” (La Republica, 2013)

 

 

     Antitrust legislation

It refers to all laws that promote a free and fair competition, and protect companies from different situations that can appear into a negotiation. The purpose of these laws is to maintain and guarantee a fair competition in the industries, as well as the promotion of creation of new firms.

In Colombia the antitrust legislation is one of the oldest (since 1959) in South America, however, it was not really efficient and apply until the nineties when the government conducted a new constitutional legislation in 1991 , in the article 333 is mention all the competition factors that companies should be aware of.

“Artículo 333 -La actividad económica y la iniciativa privada son libres, dentro de los límites del bien común. Para su ejercicio, nadie podrá exigir permisos previos ni requisitos, son autorización de la ley.

La libre competencia económica es un derecho de todos que supone responsabilidades.

La empresa, como base del desarrollo, tiene una función social que implica obligaciones. El Estado fortalecerá las organizaciones solidarias y estimulará el desarrollo empresarial.

El Estado, por mandato de la ley, impedirá que se obstruya o se restrinja la libertad económica y evitará o controlará que personas o empresas hagan de su posición dominante en el mercado nacional.

La ley delimitará el alcance de la libertad económica cuando así lo exijan el interés social, el ambiente y el patrimonio cultural de la Nación.”

 

 

 

 

   Colombian-American relationship

 

Nowadays, countries usually pact trades with the purpose of growth of both economies. United States is one of the most important economies in the world, so having a good relationship with this economy can promote the growth and development of society. However, trades not always are just benefits; some industries could be affected by those treaties, because while the exports would increase, also the imports so for some companies that do not count with the better standards of quality can have a negative impact for them.

United States have been the principal commercial partner for Colombia,

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