Does Successful Governance Require Heroes? The Case of Sergio Fajardo and the City of Medell铆n: a Reform Case for Instruction
Abstract
The city of Medell铆n, Colombia was a cauldron of violence with 185 homicides per 100,000 people in 2002. By 2006, this rate had declined to 32.5. Such successful transformation was termed the 鈥楳edell铆n miracle鈥� and credited to policies of the city鈥檚 mayor, Sergio Fajardo. Fajardo came to office in 2004 and led a series of reforms that observers call visionary. The story of Medell铆n鈥檚 revival starts before Fajardo took office, however, and involved many more people than the mayor. This abridged version of the story offers instructors a classroom case to discuss leaders and leadership in governance reform.
Citation
Andrews, M.; Fajardo, A. Does Successful Governance Require Heroes? The Case of Sergio Fajardo and the City of Medell铆n: a Reform Case for Instruction. UNU-WIDER, Helsinki, Finland (2014) 13 pp. [WIDER Working Paper No. 2014/035]