Microsoft to Train Demobilized Paramilitary Soldiers in Columbia

By Mark Hoerrner

Peace always has a price.

In the case of Columbia, the price is the promise of economic opportunity. With more than 30,000 former right-wing militia members now out of work due to a treaty signed with the Columbian government, President Alvaro Uribe is tasked with providing training and finding jobs for the demobilized paramilitary fighters. But the task is a daunting one for a country that already is in dire need of a national pension overhaul and which is seeing a sharp decline in oil production.

Despite years of heavy armed conflict, Columbia has flourished under Uribe’s tenure. He’s enacted a full-out assault on public debt and kept bureaucracy to a minimum while also keeping government budgets lean. But the country never considered that an armistice would lead to such high unemployment levels.

Bill Gates may not be the ultimate savior that Uribe is looking for, but he represents a step in the right direction for Columbia. Yesterday, Gates committed Microsoft Corp. to providing the funds to establish nine computer training centers around the country to start develop crucial technology skills among a population that’s more adept at pulling a trigger than pushing a mouse. The funds will come over three years and represent an investment by Microsoft of over $1 million.

In addition to the training centers at regional libraries, Microsoft is helping the country develop a system where citizens can go online for information and services.

"Microsoft has decided to put a particular emphasis on Colombia to demonstrate some of our possibilities,'" Gates said.

An additional agreement signed yesterday will help bring another 15,000 computers to Columbian schools.

The investment in Columbia is part of an overarching plan put forth by Gates to bring technology to over 80 million Latin Americans by the year 2010. In the past four years, Microsoft has issued grants to non-profit organizations totally $88.5 million. The result has been more than 5,300 Community-Based Technology Learning Centers, according to Microsoft.com.

Uribe has set a personal goal of increasing the number of computers located throughout his country. Currently, the country has only one computer per 40 students. He’s trying to get that number down to one per 25 students as soon as possible. He’s asked the Inter-American Development Bank to court the $100 computer initiative to bring low-priced computers to Columbia.

Columbia has a high penetration of broadband internet—about seven percent of households there—though it doesn’t come close to the one in every two household number found in the U.S. It is above the average for Latin America, however.

Some critics of the Microsoft investments in Columbia have said that the move is solely to offset the grass roots movement in support of the Linux operating system currently supported by countries like China, Brazil and Norway.