Democracy is like three oxen pulling a plough. The oxen are the independent powers, but you have to walk in the same direction; otherwise, you cannot plough and that is what was happening in Colombia. One ox was walking in one direction, the other in another direction, so the democracy was not working.

Juan Manuel Santos

Categorized in : Independent One Direction Oxen

One doesn't make peace with one's friends. One makes peace with one's enemies.

Juan Manuel Santos

making-peace enemy

Where do you draw the line between peace and justice? If you ask the victims, they want more justice; if you ask the potential victims, they want more peace.

Juan Manuel Santos

lines want justice

We must rebuild Colombia, starting with ourselves, our hearts, put resentment aside, put hatred aside, put envy aside. The only thing that those attitudes accomplish is to sow violence and sow death and suffering.

Juan Manuel Santos

envy heart attitude

My generation has not seen one single day of peace, and my dream is for my children and the children of all Colombians to have the change to see it. I hope the guerrilla understands that the time has come to leave this 50-year confrontation behind; that the time has come to change from bullets to votes, from weapons to argumentations; that the time has come for them to continue their struggle, but within democracy.

Juan Manuel Santos

struggle dream children

Waging war is much more popular than negotiating, because there you need to compromise.

Juan Manuel Santos

compromise war needs

I practice Transcendental Meditation and I had enough exercise. I am one who thinks that not only need to have patience, we must persevere. If you do it right you'll see results.

Juan Manuel Santos

practice exercise thinking

Today, we must acknowledge, that war has not been won.

Juan Manuel Santos

drug today war

The rebels will be thinking about retaliation, what we have to do is stop; stop and transform it into a spiral of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Juan Manuel Santos

rebel forgiveness thinking

Ten years ago, we were seen as a virtually failed state, but today we are a vibrant democracy. You can walk safely through the streets of Bogota these days.

Juan Manuel Santos

democracy today years

To make peace, it is necessary to know how to make war.

Juan Manuel Santos

making-peace know-how war

More than 70 percent of Colombians want peace. The rest are afraid of the price to be paid. But even they will realize that their worst fears will not come true. I'm quite optimistic that Colombians do back an agreement with the FARC.

Juan Manuel Santos

optimistic agreement want

I remember in 2000, when President Clinton came to Cartagena just before Plan Colombia started, the country was on the verge of becoming a failed state. Today, we are one of the most solid democracies, where institutions are working, where the scandals such as false positives have come to light because of those functioning institutions.

Juan Manuel Santos

light president country

Social housing, education, health, jobs and sustainable surroundings. Those are my priorities.

Juan Manuel Santos

priorities social jobs

Colombia is a different country today. The state is now present in every single corner, the drug lords are in jail or dead. So we have the means to guarantee the security of FARC politicians.

Juan Manuel Santos

jail mean country

A Colombia without coca and without conflict was an impossible dream just a few years or decades ago, and today I can tell you it is a real possibility. Just imagine it. We have already begun discussion of the last two substantive points: victims and the end of the conflict.

Juan Manuel Santos

real dream years

Colombians do not like the FARC. In fact, 95 percent reject the FARC.

Juan Manuel Santos

rejects percent facts

If we act together on the drug problem, with a comprehensive vision devoid of ideological or political biases, we will be able to prevent much harm and violence!

Juan Manuel Santos

drug political war

It was shameful that, after Haiti, Colombia was the second most unequal country in Latin America. But we've achieved some things; the inequality is coming down, and coming down fast. The growing economy has provided us with the funds to finance a very progressive social policy that has reduced extreme poverty. We have the lowest inflation rate of all Latin-America countries and the highest growth rate.

Juan Manuel Santos

latin country america

I want to see Colombian youth become the best-educated in Latin America by 2025.

Juan Manuel Santos

latin want america

Colombia has a huge variety of plant and animal species, and we have enormous potential. Small and mid-sized companies should come to Colombia. From here, they have access to the entire Latin American market.

Juan Manuel Santos

plant latin animal