page_title: Medellín
section_title: Local development state
hierarchical_section_title: Medellín / Law and government / Local development state
caption_attribution_description: Español: Edificio de la Gobernación de Antioquia y Monumento a la Raza en el centro.
context_page_description: Medellín, officially the Municipality of Medellín, is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central region of the Andes Mountains in South America. According to the National Administrative Department of Statistics, the city had an estimated population of 2,508,452 according to the 2018 census. With its surrounding area that includes nine other cities, the metropolitan area of Medellín is the second-largest urban agglomeration in Colombia in terms of population and economy, with more than 3.7 million people.
  In 1616 the Spaniard Francisco Herrera Campuzano erected a small indigenous village known as "Saint Lawrence of Aburrá", located in the present-day El Poblado commune. On 2 November 1675, the queen consort Mariana of Austria founded the "Town of Our Lady of Candelaria of Medellín" in the Aná region, which today corresponds to the center of the city and first describes the region as "Medellín".
context_section_description: Low tax rates mean Medellín's city administration's social and economic development policies have been funded by the city's ownership of the main energy supplier, Empresas Publicas de Medellín (EPM); 30% of its profits go directly to the city's administrative budget. In addition to infrastructure projects, the city administration has developed a program of cash grants called 'the Medellín Solidaria' programme that is very similar to Brazil's highly successful Bolsa Familia and also the city runs the Cultura E programme.
  According to the city administration, Medellín Solidaria represents an improvement on Colombia's national programme, 'Familias en Accion' (Families in Action). The city administration is further responsible for coordinating more than 100 other social programmes. Under the Cultura E programme, the city administration has established a network of 14 publicly funded business support centres known as CEDEZO, Centros de Desarrollo Empresarial Zonal). The CEDEZOs are found in the poorest areas of Medellín and support the poor in developing business by providing free-of-charge business support services and technical advice.
  Also, as part of Cultura E, there is Banco de las Oportunidades that provides microloans (up to $2,500 at a cheap interest rate of 0.91% monthly). This has helped create more equal opportunities for all and overcome the barriers to entry to business for poor entrepreneurs with good ideas, but lacking capital, skills and connections. It has also helped develop the local economy with new micro-enterprises.
  However, several mayoral candidates for the October 2011 elections have argued the Banco de las Oportunidades's interest rates are too high, loan maturity is too short and it should have grace periods. They, therefore, suggest a new small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) development bank to complement the Banco de las Oportunidades.
caption: La Alpujarra offices the mayor of the city and the governor of the Antioquia department.
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