"Colombia is discussing pension reform to guarantee social welfare."

Transcript of Karina Batthyány's column
in InfoCLACSO – September 25, 2024

We are in Bolívar Square in the city of Bogotá, Colombia, where we have concluded working sessions towards our X Conference #CLACSO2025 in June of next year.

We met with various national and local authorities in Bogotá to advance the substantive academic definition and the logistics of what #CLACSO2025 will be. Furthermore, these meetings were framed within the discussions that Colombia is currently having regarding critical issues related to inequality and the construction of a welfare system.

In this sense, Colombia is discussing pension reform to guarantee social welfare, that is, the right of everyone to have a minimum income once we reach old age in order to survive, both those who have made contributions during their paid working life and those who for different reasons have not contributed to the system.

In this regard, I want to highlight the situation of women who, due to the systems and caregiving responsibilities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, are often excluded from pension systems when they reach old age.

Pension reform in Colombia is absolutely key to building a welfare system, linked to reforming education, the labor market, and achieving formal employment and social security for all workers. It also involves incorporating the fourth pillar of social welfare, which encompasses care work, an area where Colombia is now beginning to take a leading role in its discussion agenda.

– What was the importance of the meeting with Lilia Solano, Director of the Victims Unit of Colombia, on the road to #CLACSO2025?

– We have had Lilia Solano as an ally from the very beginning in organizing #CLACSO2025, which will take place in Bogotá, Colombia. She has been coordinating the efforts of various Colombian institutions to support our 10th Latin American and Caribbean Conference on Social Sciences. In this instance, she has been involved with the Victims Unit in the reparations process, which unfortunately affects millions of victims in Colombia.

Without a doubt, we had an excellent working meeting with Lilia Solano and we are in a position to announce that our X Conference will indeed have a good part of its activities at the Agora, Convention Center of Bogotá, with the support of different public institutions of Colombia and coordinated by the current Director of the Victims Unit.