Inversión privada en servicios públicos : el caso del alumbrado eléctrico de Bogotá y Medellín, 1889-1918

Abstract

This work explains why the Colombian merchants of the XIX century (the main supporters of the money-capital accumulation] were devotedto invest in the public utilities sector. The author mainly analyses the process of setting up and operation of the electric lighting service in the cities of Bogotá and Medellin given that at the other important urban centers this service was provided by the foreign capital.In the article we can see the complexity of the economic. and political affairs involved in the adjudication and management of these enterprises. In the companies of electricity in both cities there was a very important participation of the Ospina's family, one of the most influential in the Colombian History. The present work is based on the personal files of the family mentionated.