'They could have killed me very easily': One Colombian mayor's fight against homicide

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Source: www.washingtonpost.com --- Saturday, July 13, 2013
South and Central America account for roughly one-third of the world's murders. I spent last week in Cali, Colombia, attending a World Bank meeting on youth violence, which explored related issues. In many ways, Cali exemplifies both the challenge of and the opportunities for reducing the mayhem. The city's murder rate is now about four times Chicago's -- a figure that actually represents progress. The rate has dropped by about 50 percent, in no small part due to the efforts of Cali's colorful Mayor, Rodrigo Guerrero Velasco. For most of his career, Guerrero was not a politician. A physician and public health specialist by trade, he holds a Harvard doctorate in epidemiology. He was dean of health sciences and later president of the Universidad del Valle in Cali. In 1992, he was elected Mayor. While in office, he implemented the noted violence prevention effort Programa para el Desarrollo, la Seguridad y la Paz (DESEPAZ) . After his initial stint as Mayor, Guerrero started the Pan American Health Organization's Violence Prevention Program. He is a member of the United States Institute of Medicine. Two years ago, he was elected to a second term as Mayor of Cali. We sat down for an extended interview. The transcript that follows has been edited for length and clarity. Harold Pollack: Thank you for speaking with me, Mayor Guerrero. I take it that you have an unusual background for a high-profile politician Rodrigo Guerrero Velasco: I ...

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