title: Medellín

text: The metropolitan area of Medellín lies within the Aburrá valley at an elevation of above sea level and is bisected by the Medellín River (also called Porce), which flows northward. North of the valley are the towns of Bello, Copacabana, Girardota and Barbosa. To the south of the valley lie Itagüí, Envigado, Sabaneta, La Estrella and Caldas.


title: Medellín

text: The weather in Medellín is warm year-round with few temperature extremes. As a municipality, Medellín has an area of . Medellín features a trade-wind tropical rainforest climate ("Af"), albeit a noticeably cooler version of this climate that borders closely on a subtropical highland climate ("Cfb") and also on a tropical monsoon climate ("Am"). Because Medellín is located at above sea level, its climate is not as hot as other cities located at the same latitude near the equator. Because of its altitude above sea level and privileged location in the Andes Range, Medellín's weather at times is more characteristic of a humid subtropical climate than that of a tropical climate. The city's average annual temperature is , and because of its proximity to the equator, its temperature is constant year-round, with minimal temperature variations. Temperatures range from . Because of the pleasant springlike climate all year, Medellín is known as "La Ciudad de la Eterna Primavera" or "City of the Eternal Spring". However, as the city is located in a valley and many of its districts are on slopes, temperatures can be slightly cooler on the surrounding mountains.


title: Medellín

text: Medellín is a city governed by a republican democratic system as stated in the Colombian Constitution of 1991, with decentralized government. Administration is shared by the Mayor of Medellín and the Municipal Council, both elected by popular vote.


title: Medellín

text: The municipality is made up of official departments ("secretarías") including departments for social mobility, urban culture, social development, education, evaluation and control, government, resources, public works, administrative services, environment, women, and transportation. There are also many departments with a certain autonomy: the Olaya Herrera Airport, the Public Library ("Biblioteca Pública Piloto"), the College of Antioquia ("Colegio Mayor"), the Urban Development Enterprise (EDU), the Public Service Enterprise (EPM), the Sport and Recreation Institute (INDER), the General Enterprises of Medellín (EEVVM), the Medellín Bus stations, the General Hospital of Medellín, the health service enterprise "Metrosalud", the Metropolitan Institute of Technology (ITM), the Metro de Medellín, the department for the Administration of the Medellín parks (Metroparques) and Metroseguridad.


title: Medellín

text: The municipality is divided into six zones: The urban zone, which is subdivided into 16 "comunas" (communes). The communes are further divided into 249 statistical neighborhoods. The remaining zones outside the urban zones comprise five "corregimientos" (townships).


title: Medellín

text: Further, the municipality belongs to the Medellín Metropolitan Area, which is made up of ten neighboring municipalities.


title: Medellín

text: The government of the city of Medellín is divided into executive and legislative branches. The mayor of the city (Alcalde) is publicly elected for a term of four years (just like the president and the governor of any other department in Colombia).


title: Medellín

text: 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' program that is very similar to Brazil's highly successful Bolsa Familia and also the city runs the Cultura E program.


title: Medellín

text: According to the city administration, Medellín Solidaria represents an improvement on Colombia's national program, 'Familias en Accion' (Families in Action). The city administration is further responsible for coordinating more than 100 other social programs. Under the Cultura E program, the city administration has established a network of 14 publicly funded business support centers 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.


title: Medellín

text: Also, as part of Cultura E, there is Banco de las Opportunidades 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.


title: Medellín

text: However, several mayoral candidates for the October 2011 elections have argued the Banco de las Opportunidades'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 Opportunidades.


title: Medellín

text: Medellín used to be the most dangerous city in the world, a result of an urban war set off by the drug cartels at the end of the 1980s. However, its homicide rate has decreased by 95% and extreme poverty by 66%, thanks in part to a string of innovative mayors who laid out plans to integrate the poorest and most violent hillside neighborhoods into the city center in the valley below. Medellín is now considered safer than the US cities of Baltimore, St. Louis, Detroit and New Orleans, which appear in the CCSPJP's top 50 list.


title: Medellín

text: As the home of the Medellín Cartel funded by Pablo Escobar, the city was a victim of the terror caused by the war between the organization headed by Escobar, and competing organizations such as "El Cartel del Valle". However, after the death of Escobar, crime rates in the city have decreased dramatically.


title: Medellín

text: Throughout the rest of the 1990s crime rates remained relatively high, although gradually declining from the worst years. In October 2002, President Álvaro Uribe ordered the military to carry out "Operation Orion", the objective of which was to disband the urban militias of the FARC and the AUC. Between 2003 and 2006 the demobilization of the remaining urban militias of the AUC was completed, with more than 3,000 armed men giving up their weapons.


title: Medellín

text: After the disbanding of the main paramilitary groups, some members briefly reorganized into criminal bands known commonly as Aguilas Negras ("Black Eagles"). These groups gained notoriety in Medellín for having called for curfews for the underage population, and having distributed fliers announcing the social cleansing of prostitutes, drug addicts, and alcoholics. In 2008 the extradition of paramilitary leader Don Berna caused a brief spark in crime wave and increase in killings.


title: Medellín

text: There is a significant disparity in crime rates by neighborhoods, with virtually no homicides in El Poblado and Conquistadores and higher crime rates in the south west, around the airport and the north of the city. Generally, crime rates increase the further the neighborhood is from the center. From 2010 and 2011, homicides have declined as with crime in general, but there remains a high crime rate in the poorest communities.


title: Medellín

text: 3.2 percent of street addresses account for 97 percent of homicides. More than half of the violent deaths are attributed to clashes between criminal gangs in certain parts of the city. In 1991 there were 7,273 murders at a rate of 266 per 100,000 people; in 2017 had suffered 577 murders at a rate of 23 per 100,000 inhabitants. In the city there are more than 1,100 security cameras and more than 7,000 policemen.


title: Medellín

text: Medellín is one of Colombia's economic centers. Its economy is led by a powerful group of people from the private sector known as the Grupo Empresarial Antioqueño (Antioquian Enterprises Group). The group was formerly known as the "Sindicato Antioqueño" (Antioquian Union) but after being mistaken abroad for a labor union, which hampered its international growth for many years, a new formal name was chosen. It is represented by David Bojanini, head of Grupo Suramericana (a banking, asset management and insurance conglomerate); Carlos Ignacio Gallego of Grupo Nutresa (food industry); José Alberto Velez of Cementos Argos (a multinational cement company); and Carlos Raúl Yepes, head of Bancolombia. This group has an aggregate market capitalization of approximately US$17 billion and employs more than 80,000 Colombians.


title: Medellín

text: This group also participates in other sectors of the city industry and is an active trader in the Colombian stock exchange. Medellín serves as headquarters for many national and multinational companies.


title: Medellín

text: Medellín's main economic products are steel, textiles, confections, food and beverage, agriculture (from its rural area), public services, chemical products, pharmaceuticals, refined oil, and flowers. Fashion is a major part of the economy and culture of the city. Medellín hosts Latin America's biggest fashion show, Colombiamoda.


title: Medellín

text: Aerolínea de Antioquia has its headquarters on the grounds of Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport in Medellín. West Caribbean Airways had its headquarters on the grounds of Olaya Herrera Airport. ACES Colombia was headquartered in the city. VivaColombia, the only low-cost Colombian airline, has its hub at Rionegro's Airport.


title: Medellín

text: The Metropolitan Area of Medellín contributes 67% of the total GDP of the Department of Antioquia and 11% of the economy of Colombia. Antioquia is the second-greatest economic region of Colombia. By 2005, Antioquia's GDP was more than US$14,700,000,000 and the top exporting province in Colombia. The Aburrá Valley is the top economy in the province, and its GDP was $7,800 million. Medellín is the second-largest economic region in Colombia, after Bogotá.


title: Medellín

text: The 2005 Report of the Economic Colombian Review of Proexport and the International Cooperation Agency of Medellín concluded that Medellín was at the same level of GDP contribution to the national economy as cities like Panama City in Panama, and San José de Costa Rica.


title: Medellín

text: Medellín created the first Colombian business cluster. The city is the top exporting region of the country, with 1,750 export businesses based in Medellín. The Cluster was created with the support of the Chamber of Commerce of Medellín and the City Administration for an actual total of 21,000 companies that share 40% of total exports, 25% of the regional GDP, and 40% of Metro Area employment. The main economic activities of the Medellín Cluster (MC) are in electricity generation, textile, fashion design, construction, tourism and business. One goal of the Medellín Cluster is to include health services, an important sector in the local economy.


title: Medellín

text: According to data released by the Measuring Monetary Poverty and Inequality Mission (Spanish: "Misión para el Empalme de las Series de Empleo, Pobreza y Desigualdad", MESEP), in November 2009, the poverty rate in Medellín and its metropolitan area was reduced by 22.5%, from 49.7% to 38.5% during the period from 2002 to 2008. Similarly, the extreme poverty rate decreased by 25.2%, from 12.3% to 9.2%. These results are in line with the increased coverage of basic services such as health, education, and public services in the city. In 2014, the poverty rate decreased to 14.7% and extreme poverty to 2.8%.


title: Medellín

text: The unemployment rate in Medellín and its metropolitan area, as has been the case in Colombia as a whole, has decreased in the past decade. According to data from the National Statistics Department (Spanish: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística, DANE) unemployment for Medellín and its Metropolitan Area was reduced by 25%, from 14.1%, just above the national average of 13.9% in 2005 to 10.6%, above the national average of 9.9%, in 2015. However, according to DANE, in 2014 Medellín stood out as one of the most unequal cities of Colombia, with a GINI coefficient of 0.506.


title: Medellín

text: There are signs of heavy urban development within the city of Medellín, particularly with the construction of new skyscrapers. Medellín is outpacing all other major Colombian cities, including Bogotá, in the construction and proposed development of new high-rises. As of October 2016, there were 10 skyscrapers, 410 high-rises, 119 buildings under construction in Medellín, including 48 being planned. Other projects that the city has planned are extensions of the cities metro system to nearby suburbs such as Sabaneta. Under construction, the new project is set to open to the public soon.


title: Medellín

text: Medellín was awarded 2013 "Innovative City of the Year" by the Wall Street Journal on March 1 after beating out New York City and Tel Aviv.


title: Medellín

text: When Sergio Fajardo became Mayor of Medellín in 2004, the "Medellín, Commitment of all the Citizens" plan for the city was enacted. One of its fundamental axes was described as "Social Urbanism". The final objective of this model was to promote peace and social equity through its urban policies. To accomplish this, priority was given to the areas of the city where bigger social and economic issues were found. The main tool used with this objective was the planning and development of urban projects that would transform the physical environment while promoting profound social and cultural shifts in the communities they were implemented.


title: Medellín

text: The projects were identified and prioritized using six main guidelines as described in the City Plan by the Council of Medellín:


title: Medellín

text: The main objective of these projects is to fight inequity and exclusion. The neighborhoods with the biggest inequity and violence issues are identified and important investments are made in them. There is no previous agenda over what the specific nature of the interventions will finally be since the projects use a communicative approach to define what is best for the community with the active participation of its members. The outcomes will depend on what the neighborhood decides supported by the inclusion of the expertise of city organizations. The projects will have to incorporate all the elements needed to foster development and will be executed simultaneously to assure the biggest impact.


title: Medellín

text: Aside from usual city investment in public infrastructure and as a result of this approach to city development, there were four main concrete projects that were established to help achieve the objectives of peace and social equity based on the guidelines proposed in the Medellín City Plan by the Council of Medellín.


title: Medellín

text: A "library park" () is a term first used in Medellín for an urban complex formed by a combination of a library building with ample surrounding green space for public use. These library parks are strategically located in the periphery of the city to address the need for more cultural and education space and public services in less affluent neighborhoods. The development of library complexes and schools is part of an effort at cultural transformation. This project also aims to create centralities inside the intervened areas that help consolidate and give a clearer identity to the communities. They are meant to provide a network of activity centers for the promotion of education, culture, sport, and recreation.


title: Medellín

text: The initial plan in 2009 built five libraries with attached parks to serve underprivileged neighborhoods. This development included the Biblioteca Parque España designed by Giancarlo Mazzanti. and which was named after Spain, who helped fund the construction of one of its buildings. Architects of the other libraries added as part of the program include Ricardo La Rotta Caballero and Hiroshi Naito. The four other libraries added were León de Greiff Library (also known as La Ladera Library Park), San Javier Library Park, Bethlehem Library Park, and La Quintana Library Park.


title: Medellín

text: After the initial 2009 program another five libraries were added to the plan for 2011. These libraries are the Doce de Octubre Library Park for Comunas 5 and 6, Noroccidente; Las Estancias Library Park for Comunas 8, 9, and Centroriental; Parque Biblioteca Guayabal for Comuna 15 and Suroccidente; Parque Biblioteca San Cristóbal] for Corregimiento and Occidente; and Parque Biblioteca San Antonio de Prado for Corregimiento and Sur.


title: Medellín

text: The idea of "library parks" has served as a model for library spaces in other countries, most notably the Manguinhos Library Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.


title: Medellín

text: The Medellín Metropolitan Area Library Network is a set of libraries linked together to share resources, efforts, knowledge and experience to improve the educational and cultural conditions of the community. The network consists of over 100 libraries, 29 of which reside in Medellín. The Library Network includes all of Medellín's library parks, as well as other regional libraries, such as the Public Pilot Library and the EPM Library.


title: Medellín

text: The Library Network was a program created as a metropolitan agreement in 2005 thanks to an alliance of Empresas Públicas de Medellín, its EPM Foundation, the Mayor of Medellín, and the Pilot Public Library. In 2009, the Library Network was awarded the "Access to Learning Award" by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, consisting of one million dollars to the EPM Foundation and the Library Network.


title: Medellín

text: Additional libraries outside of this network include several other private, public, and university libraries.


title: Medellín

text: Medellín in 2013 won the Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design, awarded by Harvard University, due to PUI Integral Urban Project Northeast area, designed and implemented by Development Corporation Urbano. Medellín retains very little colonial architecture from the nineteenth century. Although the Aburrá Valley was a hotspot in agriculture and livestock throughout the colonial period, their relative wealth is not expressed in an outstanding and Cartagena, Tunja, Popayán and Bogotá civil and religious architecture. This can be explained by the fact that the population of Medellín was not political and administrative center and a place geographically isolated whose elite invested little in the development of monumental architecture. From the end of the colony remain, but with many transformations, the Candelaria Church and the Church of the Veracruz.


title: Medellín

text: The architecture produced in Colombia between 1850 and 1930 is called "Republican". The use of brick and implementation of European historical styles were the main novelty. Enrique Haeusler designed the Guayaquil Bridge in 1879. But it was the French architect Carlos Carré who headlined Republican nineteenth century architecture in Medellín. Carré came to town in 1889 and was hired to design and build the new Episcopal Cathedral and several commercial and residential buildings for different parts of the city, especially in the new neighborhood of Guayaquil. The Metropolitan Cathedral was completed in 1931; also are of authorship Vásquez and Carré buildings, which are located next to Plaza Cisneros. The Medellín Antioquia Railway Station was the work of Enrique Olarte, a work that allowed the definitive urban consolidation in Guayaquil sector. In the twenties Republican architecture reached its peak phase. In this period stand the old Municipal Palace (now the Museum of Antioquia) in 1928, the National Palace and the Palace of Departmental Government (now the Palace of Culture) between 1925 and 1928. The latter two works were designed by the Belgian architect Agustín Goovaerts, both inspired by the Belgian modernist, it applied the Romanesque and Gothic styles respectively. Other works of Goovaerts were the Church of the Sacred Heart (sector Guayaquil), the Church of San Ignacio, among others. The thirties highlighted such constructions of the Prado neighborhood as the Egyptian house and the current Teatro Prado.


title: Medellín

text: The main parks of the city include Berrío Park in the center of the city; Bolívar Park, a little further north and framed by the Metropolitan Cathedral; and others in more residential areas like Bethlehem Park, El Poblado Park, and Laureles Park. Several modern parks are interactive and have had a positive reception from the people because they are not only places of recreation but also of education. These include Barefoot Park, Wishes Park, Explora Park, and Bicentennial Park (which was recently opened to mark the bicentenary of Colombia).


title: Medellín

text: One of the most visited sites is the Arví Ecotourism Park, which has an area of about 20,000 hectares, covers virtually the entire territory of the village of Santa Elena, and runs between the towns of Bello, Copacabana, and Envigado. In its trails, lakes, forests and streams, one can practice various sports and activities like trekking, kayaking, biking, camping, fishing, swimming, sailing rowing, horseback riding, bike tours and picnics. Its promontory position over Medellín offers natural landscapes overlooking over the entire city.


title: Medellín

text: The city is surrounded from above by seven hills, which serve as natural viewpoints of the city and are sites for healthy leisure, recreation, enjoyment, research, sport, culture, education and ecotourism. The hills are El Volador, La Asomadera, Nutibara, Pan de Azúcar, El Salvador, El Picacho and Santo Domingo. In these natural public spaces one can find viewpoints, pre-Hispanic roads, religious icons, culture and Antioquian traditions, bird watching, the most complete herbal living of Aburrá Valley and the remains of early settlers native of Medellín, among other attractions.


title: Medellín

text: Other parks in the city include North Park and Juan Pablo II Park. The Santa Fe Zoo, founded in 1960, has about 1,000 animals from Asia, Africa, and the Americas.


title: Medellín

text: Medellín is considered a top research city in medicine in Colombia, being an exponent of advanced surgical operations in the country and Latin America. Health clinics and dental centers in Medellín have become pioneers in offering high quality services in several medical areas. The University Hospital San Vicente de Paul, the Pablo Tobon Uribe Hospital, and Clinical Cardiovascular Santa Maria have received national and international recognition as pioneers in organ transplantation.


title: Medellín

text: América Economía magazine ranked Medellín as having eight of the top 100 hospitals and clinics in Latin America. Its highest ranked hospital was Pablo Tobon Uribe Hospital, which ranked in seventh place in 2014. The Pablo Tobon Uribe Hospital is non-profit and private.


title: Medellín

text: Specialized health centers such as San Vicente Foundation hospitals were recognized with the Silver Category of LEED certification. This is the only hospital outside of the United States of America to obtain this certification.


title: Medellín

text: Among the most recognized universities with notable research work in medicine are the University of Antioquia, CES University, and UPB University.


title: Medellín

text: Air pollution caused more than 7,000 deaths in 2016 in the city and represents a significant financial cost due to the treatment of respiratory diseases.


title: Medellín

text: Medellín is also home to over 30 universities. Among the most important public universities are the following:


title: Medellín

text: There are also important technological centers such as the Metropolitan Institute of Technology (ITM), Jaime Isaza Cadavid's Politecnico, and Antioquia Institute of Technology.


title: Medellín

text: During the last decade, the administration of the city has emphasized public education, building schools and libraries in poor quarters. Private schools and colleges have a long tradition in the city, many run by the Catholic Church, private organizations, and foreign institutions. Among them are Gimnasio Internacional de Medellín, The Columbus School (the only SACS-approved school in the city), Theodoro Hertzl School, St. Ignatius Loyola College, Colegio Calasanz, Colegio Colombo Britanico, El Corazonista School, Marymount School, Montemayor Sagrado Corazon, Montessori School, Colegio Fontán, Gimnasio Los Pinares, Gimnasio Los Alcázares, San Jose de la Salle, Instituto Jorge Robledo, the Salesian Technical School Pedro Justo Berrío, Colegio Cumbres, Colegio San Marcos, Liceo Salazar y Herrera, and 'El Sufragio' Salesian School.


title: Medellín

text: Many non-governmental organizations and official organizations support the development of children and youth from poor communities. Ciudad Don Bosco cares for street children. The pacification of the city brought organizations to the poorest quarters to work with youth involved in urban violence, in order to improve their opportunities. Medellín universities, public and private, also played a role, along with official institutions both local and national.


title: Medellín

text: Medellín has two airports, Olaya Herrera Airport (EOH), and José María Córdova Airport (MDE), which is located in the city of Rionegro, east of the city of Medellín. In 2012 the busiest domestic flight route was between Jose Maria Cordova Airport and Bogotá while the busiest international route was between Jose Maria Cordova Airport and Panama City.


title: Medellín

text: The Jose Maria Cordova Airport receives international flights from important carriers such as Aeromexico, American Airlines, Avianca, Iberia, JetBlue, Air Europa, and LATAM Airlines and cargo airlines such as Fed Ex Express, which makes the city accessible from the many regions of America, both for passengers and cargo customers. Avianca, the flag air-carrier of Colombia, has also an important activity at this airport. This airport has direct flights to important international destinations such as Lima, Quito, Mexico City, Madrid, Miami and New York City.


title: Medellín

text: Medellín has two transportation terminals, the North Transportation Terminal and the South Transportation Terminal. The city's public transport system includes diesel buses, taxis, tram and an urban train referred to as the Medellín Metro, the only metro system in Colombia.


title: Medellín

text: The Metro connects the city with most of its metropolitan area. It has five lines. Line A goes from Niquía to La Estrella (north to south), while Line B goes from San Antonio to San Javier (downtown to west). In addition, Line K and Line J, an air cable car, locally known as Metrocable, serve a depressed and geographically difficult area. Line K begins at Acevedo Station on Metro Line A, and continues uphill, ending at Santo Domingo Savio. Line J begins at San Javier Station on Metro Line B, and continues uphill to La Aurora. Line L does not serve communal areas, rather, it is a tourist-oriented line which is connected to Arví Park and is part of a social project to bring retreats and nature to the masses. Colombia has become Latin America's largest user of such complementary transportation service throughout the country.


title: Medellín

text: In 2006, construction began on Metroplús, a bus rapid transit service with a dedicated road, much like Bogotá's TransMilenio, to allow faster transit for the service's buses. The first line opened two years later than planned in 2011 and a second in 2013. The first leg is the "Troncal Medellín", which goes from the Universidad de Medellín in the west to Aranjuez in the northeast part of the city. Metroplus will help lessen the city's pollution and traffic, as many old buses will be taken out of service, while the new buses will work with natural gas.


title: Medellín

text: Because of its projects on sustainable transport, the city obtained, along with San Francisco, the 2012 Sustainable Transport Award, given by the Institute for Transport and Development Policy. According to EMBARQ Director Holger Dalkmann, "Medellín pioneered the use of cable cars as a transit alternative in low-income informal settlements in hilly areas, moving 3,000 passengers per hour per direction; a real breakthrough now being replicated in Caracas and Rio de Janeiro,"


title: Medellín

text: The Colombia and Latin America's second-largest and most modern tunnel, the Western Tunnel, officially named the Fernando Gomez Martinez Tunnel, is located between Medellín and Santa Fe de Antioquia. It is in length and offers security and service technologies for the users. It was inaugurated on January 20, 2006.


title: Medellín

text: Originally, trams in Medellin were the most important transportation until 1950, but, after that, the rapidly increasing population and number of automobiles forcefully closed it in 1951. However, more than 60 years later, a new Translohr system (rubber-tired "tram"), the Ayacucho Tram, the first modern "tram" in Colombia, was opened on September 30, 2015. It is integrated with the metro system and the local bus network.


title: Medellín

text: The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Medellín, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 66 min. 12% of public transit riders, ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 11 min, while 14% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 5.9 km, while 5% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.


title: Medellín

text: The Aburrá Valley contains 58% of the population of the Department of Antioquia, and 67% of the Aburrá Valley population lives in the city of Medellín. Of the inhabitants of Medellín, 61.3% were born in the city, 38% in other parts of Colombia and 0.3% in another country.


title: Medellín

text: According to the National Administrative Department of Statistics, Medellín had, by 2005, a population of 2,223,078 inhabitants, making it the second largest city in Colombia. The metropolitan area of Medellín in 2005 included 3,312,165 inhabitants. There are 5,820 people per square kilometer in the city. There were 130,031 people living in the city townships; 46.7% of the population are male and 53.3% are female. Illiteracy is 9.8% in people older than 5 years old. 98.8% of the households in Medellín have electricity, 97.3% have drinking water, and 91% have a land-line phone.


title: Medellín

text: According to the 2005 DANE census, in that year Medellín registered 33,307 births, slightly fewer than in 2004 (33,615). In 2005 the number of deaths was 10,828, in 2004 11,512.


title: Medellín

text: During the 17th and 18th centuries, Medellín received many immigrants from Spain. Most Indigenous peoples died from the introduction of European diseases, and many of those who survived intermarried with early Spanish settlers, who were mostly men; later, Spanish women also began to immigrate. Thousands of Irish, Scottish and English who settled in Antioquia fought for the Colombian army during independence. During the 19th and 20th centuries, immigrants arrived from Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Lebanon, Israel, Palestina and Syria. Many people from Medellín are referred to as Paisas, people of mainly Spanish ancestry, a lot of them Basque. There is a small Afro-Colombian and Zambo-Colombian (people of Indigenous and African descent) population.


title: Medellín

text: The Chocó Department is just west of Antioquia, and is home to many Afro-Colombian and Zambo-Colombian migrants to Medellín and its vicinity. Migration from the Colombian Caribbean coast has been important, especially that of young people who come to study in Medellín universities and remain to work in the city. The main foreign immigration is of Ecuadorians and Venezuelans in informal trade.


title: Medellín

text: The culture in Medellín is strongly linked to a broader Paisa culture (see next section) whose unique attributes include their Spanish accent, cuisine, and hospitality. Today, Medellín has several cultural attractions for the public including approximately 40 museums, 21 public parks, 28 theaters, and several public libraries. The city also contains several National Monuments of Colombia.


title: Medellín

text: Most people in Medellín are Catholic, as reflected by Medellín's several churches and religious activities. Among the most representative churches are the Metropolitan Cathedral, the largest cathedral in the world built entirely in baked brick. There is also the Basilica of Our Lady of Candelaria, which was the official cathedral until 1931, the Church of San Ignacio, Baroque on the outside and Colonial on inside, the Church of San José, the Church of San Antonio, which has one of the biggest domes in Colombia, the Church of San José del Poblado, located in the Parque del Poblado where the first European settlement in the Aburrá Valley was founded in 1616, and the Church of Nuestra Señora de Belén. All of these temples have religious art and are located in the center of the city, which facilitates their journeys.


title: Medellín

text: In December, the city is covered with thousands of fairy lights, creating the famous "Alumbrados" (Christmas lights), which are considered by the National Geographic as one of the ten most beautiful in the world, and which can be seen mainly on "La Playa" Avenue and the Medellín River.


title: Medellín

text: Plaza Mayor is the epicenter of large events and business. By a decree of the municipal government, between 1980 and 1990 all developments or tall buildings necessarily included a sculpture of a famous artist. That is one reason why Medellín has the largest number of sculptures per square kilometer in Colombia.


title: Medellín

text: Furthermore, the city has several festivals and exhibitions year-round. The silletero tradition is also closely tied to the region and is considered a part of Colombian cultural heritage. Since 1957, this tradition has continued in the Silleta Parade that takes place during the annual Festival of the Flowers, where silletas designed with flower arrangements are carried.


title: Medellín

text: Works of many prominent artists, both local and foreign, can be seen on the streets of the city. Some artists who stand out are the masters Rodrigo Arenas Betancur and Fernando Botero.


title: Medellín

text: The inhabitants of Medellín are often called "Antioqueños" (people of Antioquia) after their province, rather than "Medellínenses" (people of Medellín) after their city. They are also often known as "Paisas", a name which some suggest comes from the coffee growers. The term "Paisa" comes from the word "paisano", meaning "fellow countryman". "Paisas" make up one of the five different regional cultures within Colombia. In addition to Antioquia, the Paisa region includes the departments of Caldas, Risaralda, Quindio and some towns of Valle del Cauca and Tolima. Although Paisa culture is dominant in Medellín, the so-called "Paisa Capital", the city is becoming more cosmopolitan, now offering music from other regions of Colombia (Vallenato and Chocó), and a variety of restaurants including Chinese, Cuban, and Argentinian.


title: Medellín

text: The Paisa culture has a Spanish background, and is traditionally Catholic, and entrepreneurial. Paisas are said to speak softly and quickly, to smile easily, and to love music, poetry, soccer, bargaining in the markets, and parties. They are proud of their city, and work hard to keep it clean, stemming from the campaign begun in the 1980s, "Depende tambien de ti, darle amor a Medellín" (It depends on you too to give love to Medellín). The Medellín weekend nightlife, in discos, pubs, parks, and certain dedicated streets, is traditionally called "rumba".


title: Medellín

text: Medellín has about 40 galleries, which are one of the main attractions of the city. Some of the main museums include the following:


title: Medellín

text: Other prominent museums are Centro Cultural Banco de la República, Entomological Museum Francisco Luis Gallego, Casa Museo Santa Fe, Museum of Natural Sciences, Ethnographic Museum Miguel Ángel Builes and the Mother Laura Ethnographic Museum.


title: Medellín

text: Medellin is well known for having great public art, and there are many buildings that have prominent sculptures outside them. In addition to the sculpture park of Fernando Botero, there are many other sculptural gems by a variety of contemporary and modernist artists scattered around the city. They include works by the artist Hugo Zapata amongst others.


title: Medellín

text: The cuisine of Medellín is again tied to the larger culture of Antioquia. A typical regional dish is the bandeja paisa, meaning the "paisa platter", which usually includes beans, rice, pork cracklings (or "chicharrón"), chorizo, a fried egg, patacónes, salad and avocado. It is traditionally served on a tray slab or wood. It is traditional to consume meals with arepas, which are made with cooked, milled, and mixed corn without further ingredients.


title: Medellín

text: For breakfast, it is common to accompany the food with hot chocolate and possibly a slice of cheese to dunk in the drink. Parva is a traditional component of the Antioquian gastronomy as well. This name is given to a wide variety of sweet and savory baked goods, including pan de queso, pan de bono, buñuelos, and pastries.


title: Medellín

text: Other foods that are typical in the region stem from Colombian food industries, such as Postobón's Colombian soft drinks, the regional aguardiente known as "Aguardiente Antioqueño", and Jet chocolate bars.


title: Medellín

text: Medellín has developed its Cultural Tourism through various activities such as cooking workshops, dancing classes or arts and craft. Medellín is an official Creative Tourism City thanks to its cultural richness and its wide array of activities between tradition and innovation.


title: Medellín

text: Soccer is the most popular sport and is widely played in the city. Medellín has two professional clubs: Independiente Medellín, founded in 1913, and Atlético Nacional, founded in 1935. Both teams play at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium. The city has a soccer legacy thanks to notable players such as René Higuita, Iván Córdoba, Andrés Escobar, Víctor Aristizábal, Jackson Martínez and many others. Other notable sportsmen of the city are the professional golfer and PGA Tour player Camilo Villegas, Medellin-born Israeli Olympic show jumping rider Daniel Bluman, and the retired Formula One, Champ Car, and IndyCar driver Roberto Guerrero.


title: Medellín

text: A popular sport in Medellín, and generally throughout Antioquia, is horseback riding; therefore, it has encouraged trade and production of tools and equipments for this activity, such as chairs and horseshoes for export. During the Festival of the Flowers, the cavalcades achieved a Guinness World Record in 1996 and 1999.


title: Medellín

text: The city also has two Colombian professional basketball teams: the Arrieros of Antioquia and the Mountain Academy.


title: Medellín

text: The Atanasio Girardot Sports Complex is the main sports arena complex of the city. It covers an area of and encompasses fields and stadiums for practice and competition for 34 sports. This is the headquarters of most professional sports leagues in Medellín. The sports complex has hosted several events, including the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the 2010 South American Games, and the 2001 Copa América.


title: Medellín

text: In 2011, Medellín hosted the 15th IAAF Pan American Race Walking Cup. Athletes and teams from the countries in North, South, and Central American as well as the Caribbean Islands participated. In 2013, Medellín hosted the IAAF Pan American Junior Athletics Championships for track and field. Again, athletes and teams from the countries in North, South, and Central America as well as the Caribbean Islands participated. The junior athletes competed as a test trial for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics.


title: Medellín

text: Medellín bid to host the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics but was defeated by Buenos Aires in the July 4, 2013 vote.


title: Medellín

text: Another representative sport in the city is cycling. Its respective sport venue is the Martin Rodriguez Velodrome, named after Colombian road racing cyclist Martín Emilio Rodríguez. BMX is also catered for, and its main venue is the BMX Track Antonio Roldán Betancur. The retired cycling three-time Tour de France stage winner and World Time-Trial Champion Santiago Botero Echeverry and the Olympic Gold Medalist and multiple BMX World Champion Mariana Pajón Londoño are both from Medellín.


title: Medellín

text: EnCicla is the name of Medellín's bicycle sharing system, the first bike sharing program in Latin America and the only one of its kind in Colombia. It was the shared winner of the Sustainable Transport Award in 2012 along with San Francisco. EnCicla is the result of an agreement between the metropolitan area of the Valley of Aburrá and EAFIT University. EnCicla is integrated within the city's existing infrastructure of cycle routes, mass transit, and public transport systems. It is available from Monday to Friday from 5:30 am to 8 pm from every EnCicla station.


title: Medellín

text: The coat of arms, flag and anthem of the city, has the recognition of official symbols of the municipality of Medellín according to Decree No. 151 of February 20, 2002, and as emblems of the city are part of the corporate image of management municipal, and therefore are present in the acts, events and official media in which these should appear by its representative character.


title: Medellín

text: The Medellín coat of arms is the oldest emblem of the city, having its origins in a grant by King Charles II of Spain by royal decree issued in Madrid on March 31 of 1678:


title: Medellín

text: The blazon has remained over time since it was granted, without further changes to the aesthetics, it is noteworthy that there are different stylistic versions between the Mayor and City Council also meets aesthetic not heraldic standards.


title: Medellín

text: To strengthen the links with the region, the municipality adopted the flag of the Department of Antioquia, which was added to the coat of arms of the city, so that these could make difference. The flag consists of two horizontal stripes of equal proportions, the white top and green bottom, and in the middle between two strips is located the coat. The white color symbolizes purity, integrity, obedience, firmness and eloquence. The green represents hope, abundance, freedom and faith.


title: Medellín

text: The anthem of the city of Medellín is "Anthem of Antioquia", according to Decree No. 151 of February 20, 2002, Article 10, which says: "Anthem of Medellín. To unify the ideals of the region the Antioquia anthem is adopted (lyrics by Epifanio Mejia and music by Gonzalo Vidal) as the Anthem of the Municipality of Medellín. It will be sung in all official functions where the Mayor of Medellín is present."


title: Flag of Canada

text: The national flag of Canada (), often simply referred to as the Canadian flag or, unofficially, as the Maple Leaf or "" (; ), consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of , in which is featured a stylized, red, 11-pointed maple leaf charged in the centre. It is the first flag to have been adopted by both houses of Parliament and officially proclaimed by the Canadian monarch as the country's official national flag. The flag has become the predominant and most recognizable national symbol of Canada.


title: Flag of Canada

text: In 1964, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson formed a committee to resolve the ongoing issue of the lack of an official Canadian flag, sparking a serious debate about a flag change to replace the Union Flag. Out of three choices, the maple leaf design by George Stanley, based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada, was selected. The flag made its first official appearance on February 15, 1965; the date is now celebrated annually as National Flag of Canada Day.


title: Flag of Canada

text: The Canadian Red Ensign was in unofficial use since the 1860s and officially approved by a 1945 Order in Council for use "wherever place or occasion may make it desirable to fly a distinctive Canadian flag". Also, the Royal Union Flag remains an official flag in Canada, to symbolize Canada's allegiance to the monarch and membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. There is no law dictating how the national flag is to be treated, but there are conventions and protocols to guide how it is to be displayed and its place in the order of precedence of flags, which gives it primacy over the aforementioned and most other flags.


title: Flag of Canada

text: Many different flags created for use by Canadian officials, government bodies, and military forces contain the maple leaf motif in some fashion, either by having the Canadian flag charged in the canton or by including maple leaves in the design. The Canadian flag also appears on the government's wordmark.


title: Flag of Canada

text: The flag is horizontally symmetric and therefore the obverse and reverse sides appear identical. The width of the Maple Leaf flag is twice the height. The white field is a Canadian pale (a central band occupying half the width of a vertical triband flag, rather than a third of the width, named for its use in this flag); each bordering red field is exactly half its size and it bears a stylized red maple leaf at its centre. In heraldic terminology, the flag's blazon as outlined on the original royal proclamation is "gules on a Canadian pale argent a maple leaf of the first".


title: Flag of Canada

text: The maple leaf has been used as a Canadian emblem since the 18th century. It was first used as a national symbol in 1868 when it appeared on the coat of arms of both Ontario and Quebec. In 1867, Alexander Muir composed the patriotic song "The Maple Leaf Forever", which became an unofficial anthem in English-speaking Canada. The maple leaf was later added to the Canadian coat of arms in 1921. From 1876 until 1901, the leaf appeared on all Canadian coins and remained on the penny after 1901. The use of the maple leaf by the Royal Canadian Regiment as a regimental symbol extended back to 1860. During the First World War and Second World War, badges of the Canadian Forces were often based on a maple leaf design. The maple leaf would eventually adorn the tombstones of Canadian military graves.


title: Flag of Canada

text: By proclaiming the Royal Arms of Canada, King George V in 1921 made red and white the official colours of Canada; the former came from Saint George's Cross and the latter from the French royal emblem since King Charles VII. These colours became "entrenched" as the national colours of Canada upon the proclamation of the Royal Standard of Canada (the Canadian monarch's personal flag) in 1962. The Department of Canadian Heritage has listed the various colour shades for printing ink that should be used when reproducing the Canadian flag; these include:


title: Flag of Canada

text: The number of points on the leaf has no special significance; the number and arrangement of the points were chosen after wind tunnel tests showed the current design to be the least blurry of the various designs when tested under high-wind conditions.


title: Flag of Canada

text: The image of the maple leaf used on the flag was designed by Jacques Saint-Cyr; Jack Cook claims that this stylized eleven-point maple leaf was lifted from a copyrighted design owned by a Canadian craft shop in Ottawa. The colours 0/100/100/0 in the CMYK process, PMS 032 (flag red 100%), or PMS 485 (used for screens) in the Pantone colour specifier can be used when reproducing the flag. For the Federal Identity Program, the red tone of the standard flag has an RGB value of 255–0–0 (web hexadecimal #FF0000). In 1984, the National Flag of Canada Manufacturing Standards Act was passed to unify the manufacturing standards for flags used in both indoor and outdoor conditions.


title: Flag of Canada

text: The first flag known to have flown in Canada was the Saint George's Cross carried by John Cabot when he reached Newfoundland in 1497. In 1534, Jacques Cartier planted a cross in Gaspé bearing the French royal coat of arms with the fleurs-de-lis. The Royal Banner of France or "Bourbon Flag" held a position of some prominence in New France, with the evolving variations of French military flags being used over time.


title: Flag of Canada

text: As the "de facto" British national flag, the Union Flag (commonly known as the "Union Jack") was used similarly in Canada from the time of British settlement in Nova Scotia after 1621. Its use continued after Canada's legislative independence from the United Kingdom in 1931 until the adoption of the current flag in 1965.


title: Flag of Canada

text: Shortly after Canadian Confederation in 1867, the need for distinctive Canadian flags emerged. The first Canadian flag was that then used as the flag of the Governor General of Canada, a Union Flag with a shield in the centre bearing the quartered arms of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, surrounded by a wreath of maple leaves. In 1870, the Red Ensign, with the addition of the Canadian composite shield in the fly, began to be used unofficially on land and sea and was known as the "Canadian Red Ensign". As new provinces joined the Confederation, their arms were added to the shield. In 1892, the British admiralty approved the use of the Red Ensign for Canadian use at sea.


title: Flag of Canada

text: The composite shield was replaced with the coat of arms of Canada upon its grant in 1921 and, in 1924, an Order in Council approved its use for Canadian government buildings abroad. In 1925, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King established a committee to design a flag to be used at home, but it was dissolved before the final report could be delivered. Despite the failure of the committee to solve the issue, public sentiment in the 1920s was in favour of fixing the flag problem for Canada. New designs were proposed in 1927, 1931, and 1939.


title: Flag of Canada

text: By the Second World War, the Red Ensign was viewed as Canada's "de facto" national flag. A joint committee of the Senate and House of Commons was appointed on November 8, 1945, to recommend a national flag to officially adopt. It received 2,409 designs from the public and was addressed by the director of the Historical Section of the Canadian Army, Fortescue Duguid, who pointed out that red and white were Canada's official colours and there was already an emblem representing the country: three joined maple leaves seen on the escutcheon of the Canadian coat of arms. By May 9 the following year, the committee reported back with a recommendation "that the national flag of Canada should be the Canadian red ensign with a maple leaf in autumn golden colours in a bordered background of white". The Legislative Assembly of Quebec had urged the committee to not include any of what it deemed as "foreign symbols", including the Union Flag, and Mackenzie King, then still prime minister, declined to act on the report; fearing it may lead to political instability. As a result, the Union Flag was kept as a national flag, and the order to fly the Canadian Red Ensign at government buildings was maintained.


title: Flag of Canada

text: By the 1960s, the debate for an official Canadian flag intensified and became a subject of controversy, culminating in the Great Flag Debate of 1964. In 1963, the minority Liberal government of Lester B. Pearson gained power and decided to adopt an official Canadian flag through parliamentary debate. The principal political proponent of the change was Pearson. He had been a significant broker during the Suez Crisis of 1956, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. During the crisis, Pearson was disturbed when the Egyptian government objected to Canadian peacekeeping forces on the grounds that the Canadian flag (the Red Ensign) contained the same symbol (the Union Flag) also used as a flag by the United Kingdom, one of the belligerents. Pearson's goal was for the Canadian flag to be distinctive and unmistakably Canadian. The main opponent to changing the flag was the leader of the opposition and former prime minister, John Diefenbaker, who eventually made the subject a personal crusade.


title: Flag of Canada

text: In 1961, Leader of the Opposition Lester Pearson asked John Ross Matheson to begin researching what it would take for Canada to have a new flag. By April 1963, Pearson was prime minister in a minority government and risked losing power over the issue. He formed a 15-member multi-party parliamentary committee in 1963 to select a new design, despite opposition leader Diefenbaker's demands for a referendum on the issue. On May 27, 1964, Pearson's cabinet introduced a motion to parliament for the adoption of his favourite design, presented to him by artist and heraldic advisor Alan Beddoe, of a "sea to sea" (Canada's motto) flag with blue borders and three conjoined red maple leaves on a white field. This motion led to weeks of acrimonious debate in the House of Commons and the design came to be known as the "Pearson Pennant", derided by the media and viewed as a "concession to Québec".


title: Flag of Canada

text: A new all-party committee was formed in September 1964, comprising seven Liberals, five Conservatives, one New Democrat, one Social Crediter, and one Socreter, with Herman Batten as chairman, while John Matheson acted as Pearson's right-hand man. Among those who gave their opinions to the group was Duguid, expressing the same views as he had in 1945, insisting on a design using three maple leaves; Arthur R. M. Lower, stressing the need for a distinctly Canadian emblem; Marcel Trudel, arguing for symbols of Canada's founding nations, which did not include the maple leaf (a thought shared by Diefenbaker); and A. Y. Jackson, providing his own suggested designs. A steering committee also considered about 2,000 suggestions from the public, in addition to 3,900 others that included, according to Library and Archives Canada, "those that had accumulated in the Department of the Secretary of State and those from a parliamentary flag committee of 1945–1946". Through a six-week period of study with political manoeuvring, the committee took a vote on the two finalists: the Pearson Pennant (Beddoe's design) and the current design. Believing the Liberal members would vote for the Prime Minister's preference, the Conservatives voted for the single leaf design. The Liberals, though, all voted for the same, giving a unanimous, 14 to 0 vote for the option created by George Stanley and inspired by the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in Kingston, Ontario.


title: Flag of Canada

text: There, near the parade square, in March 1964, while viewing the college flag atop the Mackenzie Building, Stanley, then RMC's Dean of Arts, first suggested to Matheson, then Member of Parliament for Leeds, that the RMC flag should form the basis of the national flag. The suggestion was followed by Stanley's memorandum of March 23, 1964, on the history of Canada's emblems, in which he warned that any new flag "must avoid the use of national or racial symbols that are of a divisive nature" and that it would be "clearly inadvisable" to create a flag that carried the Union Flag or a fleur-de-lis. According to Matheson, Pearson's one "paramount and desperate objective" in introducing the new flag was to keep Quebec in the Canadian union. It was Dr. Stanley's idea that the new flag should be red and white and that it should feature the single maple leaf; his memorandum included the first sketch of what would become the flag of Canada. Stanley and Matheson collaborated on a design that was, after six months of debate and 308 speeches, passed by a majority vote in the House of Commons on December 15, 1964. Just after this, at 2:00 am, Matheson wrote to Stanley: "Your proposed flag has just now been approved by the Commons 163 to 78. Congratulations. I believe it is an excellent flag that will serve Canada well." The Senate added its approval two days later.


title: Flag of Canada

text: After the resolutions proposing a new national flag for Canada were passed by the two houses of parliament, a proclamation was drawn up for signature by the queen of Canada. This was created in the form of an illuminated document on vellum, with calligraphy by Yvonne Diceman and heraldic illustrations. The text was rendered in black ink, using a quill, while the heraldic elements were painted in gouache with gilt highlights. The Great Seal of Canada was embossed and secured by a silk ribbon.


title: Flag of Canada

text: This parchment was signed discreetly by the calligrapher but was made official by the signatures of Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister Lester Pearson, and Attorney General Guy Favreau. In order to obtain these signatures, the document was flown to the United Kingdom (for the Queen's royal sign-manual) and to the Caribbean (for the signature of Favreau, who was on vacation). This transport to different climates, combined with the quality of the materials with which the proclamation was created, and the subsequent storage and repair methods (including the use of Scotch Tape) contributed to the deterioration of the document: The gouache was flaking off, leaving gaps in the heraldic designs, most conspicuously on the red maple leaf of the flag design in the centre of the sheet, and the adhesive from the tape had left stains. A desire to have the proclamation as part of a display at the Canadian Museum of Civilization marking the flag's 25th anniversary led to its restoration in 1989. The proclamation is today stored in a temperature and humidity controlled, plexiglass case, so as to prevent the vellum from changing dimensionally.


title: Flag of Canada

text: The new national flag was inaugurated on February 15 of the same year at an official ceremony held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, in the presence of Governor General Major-General Georges Vanier, the Prime Minister, other members of the Cabinet, and Canadian parliamentarians. The Red Ensign was lowered at the stroke of noon and the new maple leaf flag was raised. The crowd sang "O Canada" followed by "God Save the Queen". Of the flag, Vanier said "[it] will symbolize to each of us—and to the world—the unity of purpose and high resolve to which destiny beckons us". Maurice Bourget, Speaker of the Senate, said: "The flag is the symbol of the nation's unity, for it, beyond any doubt, represents all the citizens of Canada without distinction of race, language, belief, or opinion." Yet there was still opposition to the change, and Stanley's life was even threatened for having "assassinated the flag". In spite of this, Stanley attended the flag-raising ceremony.


title: Flag of Canada

text: At the time of the 50th anniversary of the flag, the government—held by the Conservative Party—was criticized for the lack of an official ceremony dedicated to the date; accusations of partisanship were levelled. Minister of Canadian Heritage Shelly Glover denied the charges and others, including Liberal Members of Parliament, pointed to community events taking place around the country. Governor General David Johnston did, though, preside at an official ceremony at Confederation Park in Ottawa, integrated with Winterlude. He said "[t]he National Flag of Canada is so embedded in our national life and so emblematic of our national purpose that we simply cannot imagine our country without it." Queen Elizabeth II stated: "On this, the 50th anniversary of the National Flag of Canada, I am pleased to join with all Canadians in the celebration of this unique and cherished symbol of our country and identity." A commemorative stamp and coin were issued by Canada Post and the Royal Canadian Mint, respectively.


title: Flag of Canada

text: As a symbol of the nation's membership in the Commonwealth of Nations and allegiance to the Crown, the Royal Union Flag is an official Canadian flag and is flown on certain occasions. Regulations require federal installations to fly the Royal Union Flag beside the national flag when physically possible, using a second flagpole, on the following days: Commonwealth Day (the second Monday in March), Victoria Day (the same date as the Canadian sovereign's official birthday), and the anniversary of the Statute of Westminster (December 11). The Royal Union Flag can also be flown at the National War Memorial or at other locations during ceremonies that honour Canadian involvement with forces of other Commonwealth nations during times of war. The national flag always precedes the Royal Union Flag, with the former occupying the place of honour.


title: Flag of Canada

text: The Royal Union Flag is also part of the provincial flags of Ontario and Manitoba, forming the canton of these flags; a stylized version is used on the flag of British Columbia and the flag of Newfoundland and Labrador. Several of the provincial lieutenant governors formerly used a modified union flag as their personal standard, but the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia is the only one who retains this design.


title: Flag of Canada

text: The Red Ensign is occasionally still used as well, including official use at some ceremonies. It was flown at the commemorations of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 2007. This decision elicited criticism from those who believe it should not be given equal status to the Canadian flag and received praise from people who believe that it is important to retain the ties to Canada's past. The Royal Union Flag and Red Ensign are still flown in Canada by veterans' groups and others who continue to stress the importance of Canada's British heritage and the Commonwealth connection.


title: Flag of Canada

text: In Quebec, the provincial flag (a white cross on a field of blue with four fleurs-de-lis) can be considered a national flag along with the Maple Leaf flag, as is the Acadian flag in the Acadian regions of the Maritime provinces.


title: Flag of Canada

text: No law dictates the proper use of the Canadian flag. Canadian Heritage has released guidelines on how to correctly display the flag alone and with other flags. The guidelines deal with the order of precedence in which the Canadian flag is placed, where the flag can be used, how it is used, and what people should do to honour the flag. The suggestions, titled "Flag Etiquette in Canada," were published by Canadian Heritage in a book and online formats and last updated in August 2011. Canadian Forces also have a special protocol for folding the Canadian flag for presentations, such as during a funeral ceremony; CF does not recommend this method for everyday use.


title: Flag of Canada

text: The flag itself can be displayed on any day at buildings operated by the Government of Canada, airports, military bases, and diplomatic offices, as well as by citizens, during any time of the day. When flying the flag, it must be flown using its own pole and must not be inferior to other flags, save for, in descending order, the King's standard, the governor general's standard, any of the personal standards of members of the Canadian Royal Family, or flags of the lieutenant governors. The Canadian flag is flown at half-mast in Canada to indicate a period of mourning.


title: Flag of Canada

text: Since the adoption of the Canadian flag in 1965, the Canadian government has sponsored programs to promote it. Examples include the Canadian Parliamentary Flag Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage and the flag program run by the Department of Public Works. These programs increased the exposure of the flag and the concept that it was part of the national identity. To increase awareness of the new flag, the Parliamentary Flag Program was set up in December 1972, by the Cabinet and, beginning in 1973, allowed members of the House of Commons to distribute flags and lapel pins in the shape of the Canadian flag to their constituents. Full-size flags that have been flown on Peace Tower and four other locations on Parliament Hill are packaged by the Department of Public Works and offered to the public free of charge. As of March 2019, the program has a waiting list of over 100 years for both Peace Tower flags, which are in size, and for flags from the other four locations (one on each side of Centre Block and one each over East and West Blocks), which are .


title: Flag of Canada

text: Since 1996, February 15 has been commemorated as National Flag of Canada Day. In 1996, Minister of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps instituted the One in a Million National Flag Challenge. This program was intended to provide Canadians with a million new national flags in time for Flag Day 1997. The program was controversial because it cost some $45 million, and provided no means to hoist or fly the flags. The official numbers from Canadian Heritage put the expenses at $15.5 million, with approximately a seventh of the cost offset by donations.


title: Flag of Canada

text: Since 1997, the Canadian flag collection has been a part of Settlers, Rails & Trails Inc. in Argyle, Manitoba. The museum promotes the flags of Canada's historic, corporate, regional, sport and special events. As of 2019, they hold 1,400 examples of such flags.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: Los Angeles Football Club, commonly referred to as LAFC, is an American professional Association football team based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The club was established on October 30, 2014, and began play during the 2018 season as an expansion team. The club plays their home matches at Banc of California Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium located in Exposition Park.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: The managing owners of the club are Brandon Beck, Larry Berg, and Bennett Rosenthal. Los Angeles FC also has a variety of other part-owners, such as Will Ferrell. The club's inaugural head coach was Bob Bradley, who served from 2017 to 2021. During their second season in 2019, Los Angeles FC won the Supporters' Shield with club captain Carlos Vela earning the MVP Award. In 2020, Los Angeles FC were the runners-up in the CONCACAF Champions League. The club won their first MLS Cup in 2022, which completed a league double with their second Supporters' Shield.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: Since they started playing, Los Angeles FC have had a fierce rivalry with the LA Galaxy, the older of the two Los Angeles-based MLS teams. The rivalry between the two clubs has been dubbed El Tráfico by the supporters of both clubs.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: On October 30, 2014, Major League Soccer awarded a new expansion team to Los Angeles. On September 15, 2015, the club announced that Los Angeles Football Club, which had previously been used as a placeholder name for the club, would be the official team name. Henry Nguyen, Los Angeles FC's principal owner at the time, hinted at this possibility shortly after the club was announced in describing the name as "timeless".


title: Los Angeles FC

text: LAFC announced Bob Bradley as its head coach in July 2017, joining general director John Thorrington in a search for players. Mexican forward Carlos Vela was signed as the club's first designated player on August 11, 2017.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: On March 4, 2018, LAFC played its first MLS game, a 1–0 win against Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. LAFC designated player Diego Rossi scored the club's first-ever competitive goal in the 11th minute, assisted by Vela.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: On March 31, 2018, LAFC suffered its first MLS loss, giving up a 3–0 lead to lose 4–3 to LA Galaxy in the MLS debut of Zlatan Ibrahimović. LAFC was the second team ever to lose an MLS game after leading 3–0 during the match. Despite the loss, LAFC won 4 of the 6 games on their road trip to start the season, becoming the first team to earn 12 points from a season opening road trip of 6 games or more. They finished the season with 7 road wins which is the most for an expansion team in the post-shootout era.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: LAFC accomplished the best regular season for an MLS expansion team, earning 57 points. The total surpassed the 56 picked up the 1998 Chicago Fire, also coached by Bob Bradley, as well as the post-shootout era record of 55 set in 2017 by Atlanta United. LAFC's seven road wins also tied for the most ever by an expansion team in the pre or post shootout-era with the '98 Fire who had two road wins come via the shootout. They finished second all-time in goals scored by an expansion team in a season, with 68, just behind Atlanta's 70.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: On October 6, 2018, LAFC clinched its first playoff spot after a 3–0 victory against the Colorado Rapids finishing third in the West, but were knocked out at home in the first round in a 3–2 loss to sixth-place Real Salt Lake.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: Los Angeles had appeared for the first time, in the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League, and advanced in the round of 16 after defeating Club León 3–2 on aggregate after going down 2–0 after the first leg. Following the hiatus of the tournament from the Covid-19 pandemic, Los Angeles subsequently defeated Cruz Azul (2-1) and Club América (3–1) in the quarter- and semi-finals. They became the third MLS side to advance to the Final, where they were defeated by Tigres UANL 2–1, who had been runners-up in previous editions of the tournament.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: LAFC spent the majority of the 2022 MLS season pushing for the league's all-time points record (73, set the previous year), but major squad turnover brought about a string of losses (five in their final nine matches) which led to LAFC settling for 67 points as they won their second Supporters' Shield. This total was equal with the Philadelphia Union, who lost the Shield on a wins tiebreaker. LAFC defeated their archrivals, the Galaxy, 3–2 in the conference semifinals before knocking out Austin FC 3–0 to advance to their first-ever MLS Cup. Los Angeles FC won the 2022 MLS Cup by defeating the Union in a penalty shootout following a 3–3 draw through extra time. The two latest goals in MLS Cup Playoffs history were scored in the match, with Gareth Bale scoring an equalizer in the 128th minute to take the match to penalties, which LAFC won 3-0. LAFC substitute goalkeeper John McCarthy made two saves in the shootout and was named the most valuable player of the match.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: The club's colors and logo were unveiled on January 7, 2016, at Union Station. The club's primary colors are black and gold, with red and gray used as accent colors. The Art Deco-inspired logo incorporates a shield outline referencing the city seal, with a winged "LA" monogram and the words "Los Angeles" and "Football Club" in Neutraface. The crest was designed by Matthew Wolff.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: On January 31, 2018, LAFC announced that YouTube TV would be the club's first official shirt sponsor in addition to exclusively broadcasting the club's local matches in English.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: On October 11, 2019, LAFC announced it would participate in a multi-year sleeve sponsorship deal with Target beginning with the club's 2020 season.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: On March 26, 2021, upon the expiration of its sponsorship contract with YouTube TV, LAFC announced that FLEX, a power tool manufacturer headquartered in Steinheim an der Murr, Germany, would replace YouTube TV as the main shirt sponsor for the club. Four days later, on March 30, 2021, the club announced that Postmates would become the second official sleeve sponsor (joining Target) on a one year deal for the entirety of the 2021 season. Shortly thereafter, LAFC announced that YouTube TV no longer held exclusive broadcasting rights over English language home matches. Instead, the club chose to partner with two local networks for all English language home games beginning that season.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: Most recently, prior to the club's the 2022 season, LAFC announced on February 26, 2022 that it had partnered with PepsiCo to make Rockstar energy drink the exclusive shirt sponsor of its 2022 training kit.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: On May 17, 2015, the team chose the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena site to build a 22,000-seat state of the art stadium for the MLS in Exposition Park, estimated to cost $250 million. The group estimated the project would create 1,200 temporary construction jobs and 1,800 full-time jobs, generating $2.5 million in annual tax revenue. The environmental impact report, arena demolition, and stadium construction were expected to take three years and delay the team's debut to 2018.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: On May 6, 2016, the Los Angeles City Council approved the stadium, clearing a way for the construction of the stadium.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: A groundbreaking ceremony took place on August 23, 2016. At the event attended by owners and construction crews, LAFC announced a 15-year, $100 million naming rights deal for the stadium with the Banc of California. Demolition of the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena began shortly after the groundbreaking and was completed by October 2016.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: The first public event at the stadium was an open practice and dedication ceremony held on April 18, 2018. The club's first home match was played on April 29, 2018, against Seattle Sounders FC, with the home side winning 1–0. The lone goal was scored by Laurent Ciman in stoppage time in front of a capacity crowd of 22,000.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: After the launch, supporters were consulted on many of the club's early decisions including the team colors, the look of the crest and the design of Banc of California Stadium, built on land previously held by the LA Sports Arena. Much of the marketing focus was to millennials, which led to the decision to play near downtown Los Angeles. LAFC took a grassroots approach to building the club by founding the LAFC academy and signing younger prospects including Americans Walker Zimmerman and Los Angeles native Tristan Blackmon, Portuguese draft pick João Moutinho, and Uruguayan prospect Diego Rossi.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: LAFC supporters are known collectively as "The 3252". The official capacity of the safe standing supporters section at Banc of California Stadium is 3,252. When added together, the numbers 3, 2, 5, 2 equal 12, serving as a reference to "the 12th man", and an homage to the supporters of the team. Composed of a variety of supporters groups, The 3252 is the club's independent supporters union, which encompasses a growing number of affiliate supporter groups and independent supporters with active season memberships.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: The club's falcon program includes three live falcons who participate in various gameday and community events. One falcon is released pre-game by an honorary falconer (usually a celebrity or community figure) and flies around the stadium. The first honorary falconer was co-owner Will Ferrell. The three falcons are named after famous streets in Los Angeles: "Olly" (Olvera Street), "Fig" (Figueroa Street), and "Mel" (Melrose Avenue).


title: Los Angeles FC

text: LA Galaxy: LAFC's biggest and most hated rivals are the LA Galaxy, who play in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson. The series between the two teams is known as "El Tráfico" (Spanish for "The Traffic"), conversely, Spanish-language speakers and media commonly refer to it as the "Clásico del Tráfico" (English for the "Traffic Classic"). The nickname was coined by MLS fans and adopted by some media outlets following polls by SB Nation blogs LAG Confidential and Angels on Parade. It refers to the notorious traffic congestion in Los Angeles, among the worst in the United States and the world, while serving as a play on "El Clásico". MLS has no plans to trademark the name. The rivalry has also been called the "Los Angeles Derby", a moniker that was also used for the SuperClasico.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: Seattle Sounders: LAFC's first game ever played was a 1-0 win over the Seattle Sounders on March 4, 2018, marking the earliest starting point of any of LAFC's on-field rivalries. LAFC's first-ever home game at Banc of California Stadium was also a 1-0 win over Seattle, ending in dramatic fashion with a 92nd-minute goal. The next season Seattle got its revenge, defeating LAFC for the first time in the 2019 Western Conference Finals, bringing L.A.'s record-setting season to an end. Beyond these touchstone moments, the rivalry has carried on players, coaches, and supporters.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: Portland Timbers: LAFC also has an on-field rivalry with the Portland Timbers. The teams played two games in four days in July 2018, both at Banc of California Stadium. The first, a league match, ended in a scoreless draw; the second, a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal, was a testy match that ended in a 3–2 Los Angeles victory. Their matches in 2019 led MLS writer Brian Taylor to call the matchup "a new rivalry…between Western Conference heavyweights"; LAFC swept the league matches 4–1 in Los Angeles and 3–2 in Portland, but the Timbers took revenge in the Open Cup with a 1–0 quarterfinal victory. LAFC clinched the Supporters' Shield in 2022 on Portland's turf in a 2−1 victory on matchweek 33.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: At the international level, a budding new rivalry between LAFC and Club América (Liga MX) began when the two met in the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League semi-finals. LAFC defeated América 3-1, scoring all 3 goals in the 2nd half with a man down. Contentiousness on the playing field spilled over onto the sidelines at half-time, with Coaches of both teams getting into a physical altercation. In the aftermath, Coach Miguel "El Piojo" Herrera was fired by Club América. Mexican news outlets attributed the firing to the result of the LAFC game, serving as the last straw -- one source calling LAFC's win a "humiliation" of Club America and of Liga MX. Pitting together two teams located in two of the world's megacities, Mexico City and Los Angeles, which have the two largest Mexican/Mexican-American populations, has the potential of a huge and unique rivalry. LAFC and Club América met again at the 2022 Leagues Cup Showcase double-header event at SoFi Stadium in a "friendly" match where both fan groups fired off pyrotechnics from the stands.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: In 2016, three local investors—Brandon Beck, Larry Berg and Bennett Rosenthal—took over as managing owners of the club with Berg serving as lead managing owner. As of 2017, Chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment Group and entrepreneur Peter Guber is executive chairman, and venture capitalist Henry Nguyen is vice-chairman. The ownership group in 2019 also included businessman Ruben Gnanalingam. Other part-owners and investors include Will Ferrell, Natalie Mariduena, Nomar Garciaparra, Mia Hamm-Garciaparra, Chad Hurley, Magic Johnson, Joseph Tsai, Tucker Kain, Kirk Lacob, Mitch Lasky, Mark Leschly, Mike Mahan, Irwin Raij, Tony Robbins, Lon Rosen, Paul Schaeffer, Brandon Schneider, Allen Shapiro, Mark Shapiro, Jason Sugarman, Harry Tsao, and Rick Welts.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: In February 2020, LAFC owners began the process of buying out a 20 percent ownership stake held by Malaysian businessman Vincent Tan. The buyout resulted in a $700 million valuation for the club, the largest on record for a Major League Soccer team at the time.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: All locally broadcast LAFC matches are televised in English by KCOP. Max Bretos serves as the team's lead play-by-play announcer


title: Los Angeles FC

text: YouTube TV carried live games for the team from 2018 to 2020. It marked the first time that a major U.S. professional sports team sold their regional broadcast rights to an online streaming service rather than a traditional television broadcaster or regional sports network.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: All locally broadcast LAFC matches are televised in Spanish on Estrella TV station KRCA, with Francisco X. Rivera as the lead play-by-play announcer. Regular local radio coverage of LAFC matches is provided in English by KSPN (ESPNLA 710), with Dave Denholm serving as the radio play-by-play announcer. Spanish radio broadcasts are provided by KFWB (980), with Armando Aguayo as the play-by-play announcer. The club also partners with KIRN (670) as part of the station's weekly sports report.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: In 2019, LAFC won their first major MLS trophy, the Supporter's Shield. They won it with a record breaking 72 points in just their second season in existence. In 2022, LAFC won their second Supporter's Shield, becoming the second club to win two shields within their first five seasons (after D.C. United). LAFC capped-off the 2022 season by winning the MLS Cup over the Philadelphia Union.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by LAFC. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Los Angeles FC seasons.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: On February 1, 2016, the club announced the founding of the LAFC Academy. The academy is launching with a fully funded U12 USSDA academy team with a roster of 26 players. Todd Saldana currently serves as academy director.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: On July 8, 2020, LAFC signed its first three Homegrown players from the academy in Club history – Tony Leone, Christian Torres and Erik Dueñas.


title: Los Angeles FC

text: Orange County SC, competing in the USL Championship, was affiliated with Los Angeles FC as part of a multi-year affiliation agreement with the team that started on December 7, 2016, and ended after the 2018 season. On March 12, 2021, LAFC announced their partnership with USL Championship club Las Vegas Lights.


title: John Krasinski filmography

text: John Krasinski is an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Jim Halpert on the sitcom "The Office" (2005–2013), on which he also served as a producer and occasional director. He later directed and starred in the drama film "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men" (2009) and the comedy-drama film "The Hollars" (2016). He co-wrote, directed, and starred in the critically and commercially successful horror-thriller film "A Quiet Place" (2018), for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award and Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay. He also directed, co-produced, and wrote the sequel, "A Quiet Place Part II" (2020). Both films star his wife, the English actress Emily Blunt.


title: John Krasinski filmography

text: Krasinski portrays the title character in the Amazon spy thriller series "Jack Ryan" (2018–present). For his performance in this role, he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series. He is also a co-producer of the series.


title: John Krasinski filmography

text: Krasinski has also appeared in films, including "License to Wed" (2007), "Leatherheads" (2008), "Away We Go" (2009), "It's Complicated" (2009), "Something Borrowed" (2011), "Big Miracle" (2012), "Promised Land" (2012), "Aloha" (2015), and the military action thriller "" (2016). He has performed voice-over work for documentaries and animated films, such as "Shrek the Third" (2007), "Monsters vs. Aliens" (2009), "DC League of Super-Pets" (2022), "Monsters University" (2013), and the English dub of "The Wind Rises" (2013).


title: John Krasinski filmography

text: He also appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" as Reed Richards, a member of the Illuminati.


title: John Krasinski filmography

text: He has received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations and has won two Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2018, he was named by "Time" magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.


title: Communist state

text: A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comintern after Bolshevisation and the communist states within the Comecon, the Eastern Bloc and the Warsaw Pact. Marxism–Leninism currently still remains the ideology of a few parties around the world. After its peak when many communist states were established, the Revolutions of 1989 brought down most of the communist states, however, it is still the official ideology of the ruling parties of China, Cuba, Laos, and Vietnam. During most of the 20th century, before the Revolutions of 1989, around one-third of the world's population lived under communist states.


title: Communist state

text: Communist states are typically authoritarian and are typically administered through democratic centralism by a single centralised communist party apparatus. These parties are usually Marxist–Leninist or some national variation thereof such as Maoism or Titoism, with the official aim of achieving socialism and progressing toward a communist society. There have been several instances of communist states with functioning political participation (i.e. Soviet democracy) processes involving several other non-party organisations such as direct democratic participation, factory committees, and trade unions, although the communist party remained the centre of power.


title: Communist state

text: As a term, "communist state" is used by Western historians, political scientists and media to refer to these countries. However, these states do not describe themselves as communist nor do they claim to have achieved communism—they refer to themselves as socialist states that are in the process of constructing socialism. Terms used by communist states include "national-democratic", "people's democratic", "socialist-oriented" and "workers and peasants'" states. Academics, political commentators and other scholars tend to distinguish between communist states and democratic socialist states, with the first representing the Eastern Bloc and the latter representing Western Bloc countries which have been democratically governed by socialist parties such as Britain, France, Sweden, and Western social-democracies in general, among others.


title: Communist state

text: During the 20th century, the world's first constitutionally communist state was in Russia at the end of 1917. In 1922, it joined other former territories of the empire to become the Soviet Union. After World War II, the Soviet Army occupied much of Eastern Europe and helped bring the existing communist parties to power in those countries. Originally, the communist states in Eastern Europe were allied with the Soviet Union. Yugoslavia would declare itself non-aligned, and Albania later took a different path. After a war against Japanese occupation and a civil war resulting in a Communist victory, the People's Republic of China was established in 1949. Communist states were also established in Cambodia, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam. In 1989, the communist states in Eastern Europe collapsed after the Iron Curtain broke as a result of the Pan-European Picnic, under public pressure during a wave of mostly non-violent movements as part of the Revolutions of 1989 which led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. China's socio-economic structure has been referred to as "nationalistic state capitalism" and the Eastern Bloc (Eastern Europe and the Third World) as "bureaucratic-authoritarian systems."


title: Communist state

text: Today, the existing communist states in the world are in China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam. These communist states often do not claim to have achieved socialism or communism in their countries but to be building and working toward the establishment of socialism in their countries. The preamble to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam's Constitution states that Vietnam only entered a transition stage between capitalism and socialism after the country was re-unified under the communist party in 1976 and the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Cuba states that the role of the communist party is to "guide the common effort toward the goals and construction of socialism." The Constitution of North Korea has replaced references to Marxism-Leninism and communism in favor of its own ideology called "Juche", although the ruling Workers' Party of Korea remains ideologically committed to communism.


title: Communist state

text: Communist states share similar institutions which are organised on the premise that the communist party is a vanguard of the proletariat and represents the long-term interests of the people. The doctrine of democratic centralism, developed by Vladimir Lenin as a set of principles to be used in the internal affairs of the communist party, is extended to society at large. According to democratic centralism, all leaders must be elected by the people and all proposals must be debated openly, but once a decision has been reached all people have a duty to account to that decision. When used within a political party, democratic centralism is meant to prevent factionalism and splits. When applied to an entire state, democratic centralism creates a one-party system. The constitutions of most communist states describe their political system as a form of democracy. They recognize the sovereignty of the people as embodied in a series of representative parliamentary institutions. Such states do not have a separation of powers and instead have one national legislative body (such as the Supreme Soviet in the Soviet Union) which is considered the highest organ of state power and which is legally superior to the executive and judicial branches of government.


title: Communist state

text: In communist states, national legislative politics often has a similar structure to the parliaments that exist in liberal republics, with two significant differences. First, the deputies elected to these national legislative bodies are not expected to represent the interests of any particular constituency, but rather the long-term interests of the people as a whole; and second, against Karl Marx's advice, the legislative bodies of communist states are not in permanent session. Rather, they convene once or several times per year in sessions which usually last only a few days. When the national legislative body is not in session, its powers are transferred to a smaller council (often called a presidium) which combines legislative and executive power and in some communist states (such as the Soviet Union before 1990) acts as a collective head of state. In some systems, the presidium is composed of important communist party members who vote the resolutions of the communist party into law.


title: Communist state

text: A feature of communist states is the existence of numerous state-sponsored social organisations (associations of journalists, teachers, writers and other professionals, consumer cooperatives, sports clubs, trade unions, youth organisations, and women's organisations) which are integrated into the political system. In communist states, the social organisations are expected to promote social unity and cohesion, to serve as a link between the government and society and to provide a forum for recruitment of new communist party members.


title: Communist state

text: Historically, the political organisation of many socialist states has been dominated by a one-party monopoly. Some communist governments such as those in China, Czechoslovakia or East Germany have or had more than one political party, but all minor parties are or were required to follow the leadership of the communist party. In communist states, the government may not tolerate criticism of policies that have already been implemented in the past or are being implemented in the present. Nevertheless, communist parties have won elections and governed in the context of multi-party democracies without seeking to establish a one-party state and therefore these entities do not fall under the definition of communist state. In most of Europe, communist parties were highly popular and served in several coalition governments during the 20th century. Examples of direct ruling include San Marino (1945–1957), Nicaragua (1984–1990), Guyana (1992–2015), Moldova (2001–2009), Cyprus (2008–2013), and Nepal (1994–1998; 2008–2013; 2015–2017; 2018–present) as well as several Brazilian, Indian (Kerala), and Russian states.


title: Communist state

text: According to Marxist–Leninist thought, the state is a repressive institution led by a ruling class. This class dominates the state and expresses its will through it. By formulating law, the ruling class uses the state to oppress other classes and forming a class dictatorship. However, the goal of the communist state is to abolish that said state. The Soviet Russia Constitution of 1918 stated: "The principal object of the Constitution of the R.S.F.S.R., which is adapted to the present transition period, consists in the establishment of a dictatorship of the urban and rural proletariat and the poorest peasantry, in the form of a powerful All-Russian Soviet power; the object of which is to secure complete suppression of the bourgeoisie, the abolition of exploitation of man by man, and the establishment of Socialism, under which there shall be neither class division nor state authority". The communist state is the dictatorship of the proletariat, where the advanced elements of the proletariat are the ruling class. In Marxist–Leninist thinking, the socialist state is the last repressive state since the next stage of development is that of pure communism, a classless and stateless society. Friedrich Engels commented on the state, writing: "State interference in social relations, becomes, in one domain after another, superfluous, and then dies out of itself; the government of persons is replaced by the administration of things, and by the conduct of processes of production. The state is not 'abolished'. It dies out."


title: Communist state

text: In "The Tax in Kind", Vladimir Lenin argued: "No one, I think, in studying the question of the economic system of Russia, has denied its transitional character. Nor, I think, has any Communist denied that the term Soviet Socialist Republic implies the determination of the Soviet power to achieve the transition to socialism, and not that the existing economic system is recognised as a socialist order." The introduction of the first five-year plan in the Soviet Union got many communists to believe that the withering away of the state was imminent. However, Joseph Stalin warned that the withering away of the state would not occur until after the socialist mode of production had achieved dominance over capitalism. Soviet jurist Andrey Vyshinsky echoed this assumption and said that the socialist state was necessary "in order to defend, to secure, and to develop relationships and arrangements advantageous to the workers, and to annihilate completely capitalism and its remnants."


title: Communist state

text: Ideology permeates these states. According to scholar Peter Tang, "[t]he supreme test of whether a Communist Party-state remains revolutionarily dedicated or degenerates into a revisionist or counterrevolutionary system lies in its attitude toward the Communist ideology." Therefore, the sole ideological purpose of communist states is to spread socialism and to reach that goal these states have to be guided by Marxism–Leninism. The communist states have opted for two ways to achieve this goal, namely govern indirectly by Marxism–Leninism through the party (Soviet model), or commit the state officially through the constitution to Marxism–Leninism (Maoist China–Albania model). The Soviet model is the most common and is currently in use in China.


title: Communist state

text: Marxism–Leninism was mentioned in the Soviet constitution. Article 6 of the 1977 Soviet constitution stated: "The Communist Party, armed with Marxism–Leninism, determines the general perspective of the development of society and the course of the domestic and foreign policy of the USSR." This contrasts with the 1976 Albanian constitution which stated in Article 3: "In the People's Socialist Republic of Albania the dominant ideology is Marxism–Leninism. The entire social order is developing on the basis of its principles." The 1975 Chinese constitution had a similar tone, stating in Article 2 that "Marxism–Leninism–Mao Zedong Thought is the theoretical basis guiding the thinking of our nation." The 1977 Soviet constitution did also use phrases such as "building socialism and communism", "on the road to communism", "to build the material and technical basis of communism" and "to perfect socialist social relations and transform them into communist relations" in the preamble.


title: Communist state

text: The people's democratic state was implemented in Eastern Europe after World War II. It can be defined as a state and society in which feudal vestiges have been liquidated and where the system of private ownership exists, but it is eclipsed by the state-owned enterprises in the field of industry, transport and credit.


title: Communist state

text: In the words of Eugene Varga, "the state itself and its apparatus of violence serve the interests, not of the monopolistic bourgeoisie, but of the toilers of town and country." Soviet philosopher N. P. Farberov stated: "People's democracy in the people's republics is a democracy of the toiling classes, headed by the working class, a broad and full democracy for the overwhelming majority of the people, that is, a socialist democracy in its character and its trend. In this sense we call it popular."


title: Communist state

text: The people's republican state is a type of socialist state with a republican constitution. Although the term initially became associated with populist movements in the 19th century such as the German Völkisch movement and the Narodniks in Russia, it is now associated to communist states. A number of the short-lived communist states which formed during World War I and its aftermath called themselves people's republics. Many of these sprang up in the territory of the former Russian Empire following the October Revolution.