(20 July 2010) The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena, greeted the President of Colombia, Álvaro Uribe, on occasion of the celebration of the bicentennial anniversary of his country's independence.
In her letter, Bárcena congratulated President Uribe and the Colombian people for this celebration, which marks the commencement of the process of independence on 20 July 1810. After almost a decade of war, Colombians won their independence from Spain in 1819, led by Liberator Simón Bolívar.
"It's been 200 years of independent life," said Bárcena in her message. "However, all of the countries in our region still have a difficult road ahead to open the door to development and conquer the welfare and dignity of our peoples."
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