Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos stressed the progress made in 2012 by his government in a New Year’s address broadcast on Sunday.
Speaking from the Caribbean island of San Andres, Santos listed improvements in education, health, reducing poverty, and compensating victims of the conflict.
In his speech, the president referred to the 2.3 million students receiving free education under the “All to Learn” program as an example of increasing the “quality of education” in Colombia.
Moreover, according to Santos, under a recent law enacted by Congress, hospitals would receive nearly $1.4 billion to provide better services for Colombians. The president stated over half a billion dollars more would be invested in hospitals over the next three years through tax reform.
In areas of poverty, Santos expressed hopes of meeting a set goal of lowering the “percentage of Colombians in extreme poverty to single figures” by 2013. The head of state asserted the country’s “commitment” to programs that helped decrease levels of poverty, including “Red Unidos,” “More Families in Action,” and “Youth in Action.”
Santos also declared that 144,000 victims of the conflict received compensation from the government under the Victims and Land Restitution Law. Moreover, in accordance with court rulings, the president declared that the government began restoring “land to the dispossessed.”
In his remarks, Santos thanked the Colombian people for working to improve “the quality of life.”
He concluded by saying, “From this sea, the sea of San Andres, this sea of seven colors, I wish you a new year full of love, full of prosperity, and full of happiness.”