VZCZCXYZ0002
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #0159/01 0361809
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051809Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2625
INFO RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS BOGOTA 000159 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
USTR FOR EISSENSTAT AND HARMAN 
DOL FOR ZOLLNER AND QUINTANA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EAID ETRD PGOV PHUM PREL USTR LAB CO
SUBJECT: NEW VOICES IN THE LABOR VIOLENCE DEBATE 
 
REF: 09 BOGOTA 3031 
 
SUMMARY 
 
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¶1. (SBU) Colombian research institutions are focused on labor 
violence to an unprecedented degree.  Two prominent universities 
and six think-tanks have recently completed or initiated studies. 
The influx of new voices has intensified and enriched the debate 
concerning the causes and scope of violence against unionists.  It 
has also unnerved self-styled Dean of Labor Relations Jose Luciano 
Sanin and his colleagues at the National Union School (ENS).  In 
particular, a November 2009 econometric study by University of the 
Andes Economics Professor Daniel Mejia, which concluded that labor 
violence was "neither systematic nor targeted," has drawn criticism 
from labor groups and praise from the GOC.  ENS attacked its 
assumptions and methodology and called the authors biased, while 
the GOC disseminated it widely in countries where it has pending 
free-trade agreements (FTA).  The debate over the scope and nature 
of labor violence will widen and intensify this month when six 
think tanks participating in a labor violence study headed by the 
United Nations Development Program (UNPD) and funded by the 
diplomatic community present their initial findings to the GOC and 
civil society.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
"SERIOUS" ACADEMICS ENTER THE DEBATE 
 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Daniel Mejia, who earned his Ph.D. in Economics from Brown 
University, and co-author Maria Jose Uribe conducted an econometric 
study to test the claim (mainly by labor groups and NGOs) that 
"greater intensity of union activity (wage negotiations, strikes, 
protests, marches) leads to more violence against union members." 
Relying on both ENS and GOC data as well as a variety of estimation 
methods, time periods, data sources, and types of union activity, 
the authors found no statistical evidence supporting this claim. 
On the contrary, their results showed a strong correlation between 
violence against union members and areas with high levels of 
general violence and low levels of economic development.  The study 
also concluded that violence against union members had decreased at 
a faster rate than violence against the total population.  GOC 
officials have embraced Mejia's study and disseminated it widely, 
particularly in countries where FTAs with Colombia are held up over 
concerns about labor violence. 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) Although many hail Mejia's work as the first serious 
analysis of labor violence by a reputable Colombian academic 
institution, it is not without its detractors.  Luciano Sanin, 
whose ENS figures are the traditional standard for labor violence 
discussions, argued that Mejia only took into account union 
activity that occurred within the context of collective bargaining 
processes, ignoring the numerous other protests, mobilizations, and 
political opposition movements that tended to attract violent 
reprisals.  He said that statistically verifiable conclusions could 
not be drawn from partial information, especially when only one in 
five unionists in Colombia was actually party to a collective 
bargaining agreement.  He also charged that Mejia had not been 
independent from GOC influence and suggested that the study was 
doctored to support passage of FTAs in the United States, Canada, 
and the European Union.  Mejia and Uribe published a point-by-point 
response to Luciano Sanin's methodological critiques, and insisted 
on their independence.  (Comment:  Mejia is not known to be a GOC 
apologist.  As recently as March 2009, GOC officials rebuked him 
for other work that was critical of supply-side drug interventions 
and Plan Colombia.  End Comment.) 
 
SIX OTHER RESEARCH CENTERS DUE TO WEIGH IN 
 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) Six reputable, independent research institutions are 
currently conducting related studies under the auspices of the UNDP 
with financial support from the diplomatic community (reftel).  The 
Conflict Analysis Resource Center (CERAC) is exploring methods of 
defining and measuring labor violence; the Center for Research and 
Popular Education (CINEP) is analyzing links between violence and 
worker protests; the New Rainbow Corporation (Nuevo Arco Iris) is 
studying labor violence in the context of the armed conflict; the 
Center for the Study of Law, Justice, and Society (DeJusticia) is 
studying impunity and justice system capacity; the Ideas for Peace 
Foundation (FIP) is analyzing the relationship between labor 
violence and Colombia's so-called "anti-union culture;" and the 
Center for Special Studies and Projects (CIPE) at the Externado 
University of Colombia is studying the efficacy of past and present 
protection measures for unionists. 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) UNDP Democracy and Governance Specialist Jose Ricardo 
Puyana told us that the GOC and civil society groups, including 
Colombia's three largest labor confederations (CUT, CGT, and CTC), 
ENS, and the Colombian Commission of Jurists (CCJ), will review and 
offer their recommendations on the research centers' initial 
findings during formal "discussion groups" set to take place in 
late February and early March.  The research centers will then 
refine their studies as necessary and prepare their final reports 
by May.  Following a process of internal review and revision with 
oversight by Colombia's National University, the results will be 
combined into a final report and presented at an international 
seminar organized by UNDP in August.  Observers note that the 
project, particularly the discussion group phase, is likely to 
generate an unprecedented degree of dialogue, debate, and 
controversy concerning the scope and causes of violence against 
unionists in Colombia. 
BROWNFIELD