Unfinished infrastructure, wasted public funds: Colombia's 'white elephants' exposed
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In Colombia, an Instagram account called "White Elephant" exposes unfinished infrastructure (often referred to as “white elephants”), the waste of public funds and irregularities surrounding certain toll booths. The account visits the sites, then posts videos and files complaints to pressure officials and companies. The Observers team spoke to the individual behind this account followed by more than 300,000 people.
A person dressed in a white elephant costume, dancing in front of an unfinished or dilapidated bridge: this is the kind of video you can see on a social media account called "White Elephant" created by a Colombian national. Its goal is to expose poor-quality, poorly designed or unfinished infrastructure, and the resulting waste of public funds. The account also denounces the high number of toll booths in Colombia and irregularities surrounding some of them. In the videos, explanations are delivered by a fast-paced, distorted voiceover.
Created in 2021, the “White Elephant” account – “Elefante blanco” in Spanish – garnered more than 300,000 followers on Instagram, and tens of thousands on Facebook, X and YouTube. About 200 posts have been published on the Instagram account.
The term "white elephants" traditionally describes major infrastructure built at great expense with high maintenance costs, or left unfinished, whose ultimate benefit proves to be limited or nil.
At the end of 2024, Colombia’s Comptroller General – an independent government institution – announced the identification of 1,468 “white elephant and critical projects” in the country.
‘If I’m going to do this, I need to stay anonymous’
The FRANCE 24 Observers team spoke with the creator of the account:
“Even before this project, I was already exposing issues, which got me into personal trouble. I have received threats and been harassed. So I thought, ‘If I’m going to do this, I need to stay anonymous.’ That’s how "White Elephant" came to be.
It’s a representative figure of Colombia because we have many unfinished infrastructure projects here. I’ve always been very outraged to see that in my country, it was unclear how public money was being spent. So I decided to do something about it."
Since 2021, the account has exposed various types of infrastructure, including bridges, roads, parks, schools, aerodromes and cable cars. “For example, bridges with defects that could endanger lives are a priority because the project aims to protect human life,” the creator told our team.
‘This project is about the collective good’
He says he sometimes receives up to 1,000 messages per week from citizens flagging issues.
“It’s impossible to read everything due to a lack of time. Here’s how I set priorities: first, I assess the impact and the number of people who could benefit, since this project is about the collective good. Then, if I am already working on 30 different denunciations, a new 31st case will have to wait before I can look into it. Finally, I look at the type of infrastructure. For instance, if the project has already exposed numerous issues related to roads, I try to change the theme.”
When a case catches his attention, the creator visits the site to film a video. He claims to have already exposed more than 70 cases on social media and achieved results in 33 of them. He also explains that he doesn't rely solely on social media posts:
“My first videos primarily involved dancing in front of unfinished infrastructure to bring visibility. But media pressure, while sometimes enough to effect change, isn’t legally binding, unlike the justice system. That’s why I now always aim to prioritise legal action [Editor’s note: with the help of lawyers, to avoid revealing his name]. If a school has to be completed, it must be completed.
A prime example of a success story is the 'La Felisa' stretch of the road between Pereira and Medellin. This section was in poor condition for more than ten years. We succeeded in getting it completed. In practical terms, the travel time between Pereira and Medellin has dropped from up to 12 hours to approximately 4 hours. Another example is the viaduct at the 58-kilometre mark between Bogotá and Villavicencio: its construction was two years behind schedule. After a year of sustained pressure, the viaduct was finally completed.
In my view, 'white elephants' are not mere mistakes: they are a financial strategy employed by certain entrepreneurs and people in power, because the longer things drag on, the more money is spent.”
The person behind the account says the project costs around 20 million pesos per month, or €4,500 – in a country where the minimum wage is approximately €320.
“I have to pay for the car, petrol and tolls when I’m going somewhere. Moreover, I frequently hire people to help me: lawyers, graphic designers, drivers, people who can film with a drone or edit videos…
Financing this project is a real challenge. I use a portion of my own income. Since 2023, I have also been soliciting donations and have already sold more than 700 ‘white elephant’ plush toys – those ideas actually came from my followers. I regularly publish reports to explain how the money raised has been used.”
Threats received
The individual behind the “White Elephant” account claimed to have received threats and intimidation regarding his work. He expressed concern for his safety, despite always operating anonymously.
On September 10, he published a video displaying a message he received from a person claiming to be “very close” to the former mayor of a town. The message read: “Little elephant … You’d better leave the country for a few days; there are people acting without saying anything [without warning]”. He believes this message could be linked to three of his denunciations related to this specific town: one involving a former prison and two others about toll booths.
He claims to have sought assistance from the National Protection Unit (UNP), a body that can provide protection to threatened individuals in the country – so far in vain.