The Economics and Politics of Transition to an Open Market Economy: Colombia Colombia is somewhat unique in this series in that it was never a centralised communist state. Nonetheless it does share some of the characteristics of the centralised socialist economies since the reins of power remained in a small clique which denied access to other parts of the society. Reforms have taken place but they have been undertaken in a climate of resistance by vested interests and militancy on the part of those who stand most to benefit from reform. This book explains how these forces related to each other and how the conflicts were resolved or not as the case may be. The lessons for other countries in the region and for emerging economies in general are far reaching.