Giants with Feet of Clay: Political Parties in Colombia

Judicialization and Health Policy in Colombia: The Implications for Evidence‐Informed Policymaking

“…Under its 1991 Constitution, Colombia has suffered from endemic weaknesses of both the legislative and executive branches of the state, resulting in an absence of effective policy responses to a range of pressing social issues. The weak, unstructured party system (Landau, , p. 341; Leongomez, ), and endemic corruption among parliamentarians (Landau, , p. 342; López & Sevillano, ) and a history of authoritarianism and political violence (Yamin & Parra‐Vera, , p. 147), has contributed to Congress' consistent failure to perform its constitutionally mandated functions of initiating and enacting effective legislation, and holding the executive to account (Landau, , p. 362). Thus, the legislature has failed to act as an effective mechanism through which citizens can articulate dissatisfactions with the health system and through which their needs and interests can be articulated, with Congress acting more as a veto‐player (Tsebelis, ), stymying presidential policy initiatives rather than as an effective agent of policy change (Leongomez, ).…”

“…The weak, unstructured party system (Landau, , p. 341; Leongomez, ), and endemic corruption among parliamentarians (Landau, , p. 342; López & Sevillano, ) and a history of authoritarianism and political violence (Yamin & Parra‐Vera, , p. 147), has contributed to Congress' consistent failure to perform its constitutionally mandated functions of initiating and enacting effective legislation, and holding the executive to account (Landau, , p. 362). Thus, the legislature has failed to act as an effective mechanism through which citizens can articulate dissatisfactions with the health system and through which their needs and interests can be articulated, with Congress acting more as a veto‐player (Tsebelis, ), stymying presidential policy initiatives rather than as an effective agent of policy change (Leongomez, ). Yamin and Parra‐Vera () cite the process through which Law 100 itself was passed—in curtailed parliamentary debates lasting a matter of minutes, shoehorned into the legislative programme immediately before Christmas—as indicative of the inadequacy of Congress as a mechanism capable of responding to citizens' concerns or as a focus for articulating popular concerns on key issues of public policy.…”