Sergio Fajardo no longer has a guaranteed future. Pension that had once been secured for him, when he was a tenured university professor of mathematics, is now a foregone benefit. Stepping into the unchartered territory of politics, Fajardo gave up all the security of his ordinary life. And now, there’s no going back.
When Fajardo gave up his career as an educator and decided to run for the Mayor of Medellin, he had a bold and clear vision: to solve the myriad of problems faced by Colombian society. To put to action what he said needed to be done. To root out inequality, violence and illegality, the latter which had corruption as its main source.
Life was short. There was no time to wait for the politicians to carry out what needed to be done.
Medellin, the second largest city in Colombia, was a ‘cauldron of violence.’ Home to a drug cartel run by Pablo Escobar, death and crime rates reached its all-time high during the 1990s. In 2002, Colombia recorded 185 homicides per 100,000 people. Medellin was the urban center of paramilitary activities, and according to Fajardo, the ‘Harvard University of drug traffic’ as armed groups came to learn and commit crimes. Needless to say, the city was poverty-stricken and unemployment rates soared.
When Fajardo was elected Mayor of Medellin in 2004, it was a surprising victory as he came from a non-political background. No one knew that the years to come ahead would be dubbed the "Medellin miracle."
Fajardo’s administration worked with the slogan ‘Medellin, the most educated.’ He wanted Medellin to become a city of education and innovation. To do that, he needed communal spaces where people could feel safe to gather, places that offered learning and experiences, and places that looked astoundingly beautiful that would attract people into it. Fajardo’s material projects were aimed to "change the skin of the city" to create spaces where people can meet again, away from the fear associated with violence.
A series of libraries of immense sizes and impressive architecture were erected across the city. Nine libraries were built at the scale of parks (thus called “library parks”) and they were equipped with facilities to show films, stage exhibitions, hold theater productions, workshops, and they also had auditoriums, playrooms, sports facilities, computer rooms, and even citizen centers to handle administrative tasks.
Renowned architects were involved in the design. Japanese architect Hiroshi Naito designed the Bethlehem Library Park and Colombian architect Giancarlo Mazzanti designed the Spain Library Park funded by the Spain government, built just next to the final station of the Metrocable, Santo Domingo, which was one of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Colombia.
The positive impact of the library parks was evident. Employment rates rose by nearly 7 percent between 2002 and 2017. Communities with library parks had 17 percent higher employment growth rate than those without. General literacy level increased among young people. Homicide rate in the city declined to 32.5 per 100,000 people by 2006, lower than that of Washington D.C. and Miami.
Once a ‘cauldron of violence,’ now Medellin rose to become one of the most innovative cities in the world as dubbed by the Urban Land Institute in 2013 and by the United Nations. Institutionalizing change using culture as a force for change was key to eradicating organized crime and transforming the lives of millions.
By the end of Fajardo's term, around 4,500 paramilitaries living in Medellin had demobilized, helping diminish the crime rate of the city. He finished his term in 2007 with 90 percent approval rating and went on to become Governor of Antioquia in 2011.
The success of Fajardo’s administration was a collective effort. Fajardo and his team invited the public to contribute and the government was transparent with sharing their plans to citizens.
“We asked them to get involved with whatever ideas they had so that our projects could be improve” said Fajardo. “This was a very good process in the sense that it increased participation. When people feel that they are included in what is happening, their reaction is always positive.”
