The Municipal Development Plan of Bucaramanga 2020-2023 under the umbrella of the new development forces

The present study analyzed the Bucaramanga Municipal Development Plan (MDP) for the 2020-2023 period, under the theory of the new forces of development proposed by Vázquez (2005): flexible production organization (FPO), the spread of innovation and knowledge (SIK), the urban development of the territory (UDT) and change and adaptation of institutions (CAI). Starting from a conceptualization of the term “development”, the relationship between the strategic lines and projects of the MDP and the four forces of development was analyzed. Among the four forces of development, UDT stood out as the most relevant one, being a central component of the majority of strategic lines and projects in the plan. The other three forces of development received at least one mention from the strategic lines in the plan, whereas the projects only include FPO and SIK, leaving CAI aside. The strategic line that aims towards social welfare in the PDM does not relate to any of the forces of development proposed by Vázquez (2005). This can be associated with an economic bias in the theory, which seems to omit factors that enable human development.