Entrenched rural elites responded to the guerrillas’ call for land reform by forming private armies-so-called paramilitary self-defense forces in Colombia-that relied on public security forces and regional politicians to protect the interests of large landowners. Colombia’s largest guerrilla group, the FARC-EP, currently engaged in peace talks with the Colombian government, was one of many Latin American guerrilla groups that emerged in the 1960s in response to widespread poverty and tremendous economic and social inequity. In addition, the land issue in Colombia is central to the conflict’s origins. This is one of the issues that the Law of Victims and Land Restitution addresses. Why is land key to the resolution of Colombia’s conflict? What sort of land disputes, broadly, have driven conflict in Colombia, and how has this tended to play out in the government-FARC struggle?Ĭolombia’s conflict has been marked by massive displacement, so providing reparations and restituting lands to those who were forcibly displaced will be an important step toward the reconciliation of the country. Last week USIP held a conference on Land and the Peace Agenda in Colombia. Thousands of Colombians congregated in other parts of the city and throughout the country as well to show their support for the peace talks. Departing from Bogota’s Center for Historical Memory, the two leaders were accompanied by some 200,000 people, according to Bogota police figures. On April 9, President Juan Manuel Santos and Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro initiated one of seven marches in Bogota to honor Colombia’s victims and to support the peace process currently under way in Havana. Since the passage of Colombia’s 2011 Law for Victims and Land Restitution, April 9th is mandated as National Victims’ Day in Colombia. USIP’s Virginia “Ginny” Bouvier discusses the connection between land, conflict and peace in Colombia.
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