Colombia, along with 188 countries, committed itself to achieve the so-called Millennium Development Goals. This depends on the performance of the Colombian departamentos (provinces) with respect to the basic indicators. Though the central government and local administrations have agreed to pursue these objectives, it is not clear that they will be successful. This paper focuses on the case of the Departamento of Atlantico. The analysis of the basic indicators for this section of the country shows that it is likely that five of the eight objectives pursued will not be reached. There is no information system with which to develop indicators to gauge the effectiveness of government action. Finally, it was found that there is no clear overall policy for the attainment of the declared goals.