Colombia: Country in Northern South America - Essay Example

?Colombia, a country in northern South America, borders the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean and is situated between Panama and Venezuela. Encompassing more than one million square miles, Colombia is ranked currently as the 26th largest country in the world, slightly smaller than twice the size of Texas (Central Intelligence Agency, 2011). Its climate is tropical along its coasts and plains, but in the Andes Mountains it is slightly cooler, and it has a population of 44,725,543 people as of July 2011 (Central Intelligence Agency, 2011). Its government, overall, is a republic with elected officials, with a judicial system that has numerous national and district courts as well as a court of appeals, along with a House of Representatives and a Congress in its legislative branch and a duly-elected President in its executive branch. Colombia was originally colonized under Spanish rule. The Spanish sailed along the north coast of Colombia as early as 1500, but their first permanent settlement, at Santa Marta, was not made until 1525. In 1549, the area was established as a Spanish colony with the capital at Santa Fe de Bogota (Winslow). During the period before Spanish colonization, the area was inhabited by indigenous peoples who were primitive hunters or nomadic farmers, and out of the various Indian groups that were there, the area was dominated by The Chibchas, who lived in the region of present-day city of Bogota (Winslow). Columbia actually had its first social movement in history in 1810, when on July 20th of that year the citizens of Bogota created the first representative council in defiance of Spanish authority and to attempt a try for their independence. Over the next three years, they fought for independence, which was proclaimed in 1813, and in 1819 the Republic of Greater Colombia was formed. Simon Bolivar was elected its first president and Francisco de Paula Santander, vice president. However, just like any other movement, soon conflicts arose between the two leaders and their visions. From their views, two political parties grew and branched out, coming to dominate Colombian politics even today (Winslow). Bolivar managed only to keep authority until 1828, and then everything fell apart. In 1830, Venezuela and Ecuador became separate nations. Through the 19th century and into the 20th century, both political unrest and small, usually unremarkable social movements to combat the social unrest were popular. Strong parties developed along conservative and liberal lines; the conservatives favored centralism and participation by the church in government and education, and the liberals supported federalism, anticlericalism, and some measure of social legislation and fiscal reforms (Columbia Encyclopedia, 2007). The structure of Colombian society in the 1980s, which was always strongly influenced by traditions inherited from sixteenth-century Spain, was highly stratified, having well-defined class membership, pronounced status differences, and limited vertical social mobility. The urban sector was characterized by a more flexible social system, a growing middle class, and greater participation of the population in national politics. Rural society in all but a few regions was organized in rigidly hierarchical structures in which change of status was very difficult. Only in the coffee-growing departments of Caldas and Antioquia were there sizable segments of the population exhibiting the traits of a rural middle class (Colombia: National Front). Various social movements existed in the 1960s and 1970s, and even well into the 1980s that eventually formed into armies. In 1964 the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group was born. It was followed by other groups, such as the National Liberation Army (ELN) on January 7, 1965, the Popular Liberation Army (EPL) on July 1967, the Quintin Lame Movement (MAQL) in 1984 and the 19th of April Movement (M-19). (Colombia: National Front) Currently, there are still social movements in Colombia. Some groups make political statements their main focus, while others focus solely on social issues, such as indigenous persons being displaced. Others deal with issues that are almost environmental, such as gold mining in the country. There are also rural groups that are rising up against the unrest and crimes against others. The main reason that most of these groups formed was the demobilization of 2005, which most people in Colombia felt took place behind the backs of the communities, as well as the fact that no one group really saw the government doing anything to help them rise above the poverty level that they were living in (Knestrick, 2010). This is, of course, not the reason for all social movements that have formed and taken action. Some social movements simply want an action that is going on in Colombia, particularly if it could cost lives, to be stopped. Some social movements have achieved their original goals, but still protest due to other issues. Others have political aims and agendas, and will not stop until their voice is heard. A social movement with a political aim and agenda in Colombia attracting worldwide attention currently is Social and Political Front (FSP), launched in 2000 (Wilmot). The main reason for its formation was that Colombia was, at the time, in deep negotiations with the previously mentioned Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia and National Liberation Army (ELN). It was felt by the FSP that other groups, such as those who were unarmed, including indigenous peoples and women, along with union groups. Its hope was, and is, to make visible these struggles through building a unified, broad-based forum for popular struggle (Wilmot). It opposes what has been known as Plan Colombia, along with “neoliberalism” and “defends self-determination of peoples, and wants a seat at the negotiating table” (Wilmot). One of the groups in the FSP is Presentes por el socialismo (PPS) which translated roughly means the Socialism Now group. While reported to be small, it offers what the FSP states is “an important socialism-from-below perspective in the middle of the dangerous and confusing political and social environment that Colombia currently is” (Wilmot). Its basic philosophy resides in that “even if the laws of war are not the same as those of social and political life, the problem is deeper than this. The PPS does not believe that just because arms are taken up in revolutionary struggle, authoritarian conduct has to be developed.” (Wilmot) This group, the Social and Political Front, does not appear to seek violence; in fact, it appears to seek a means to end it. Through worldwide attention, their focus has been, through means of communications such as the internet and blogs, to bring attention to their stand. They wish to defend it, but they do not wish it to be violent to do so. It appears that this movement is simply trying to give a voice to those that have none. The Socialism Now group is another example that is using propaganda, but not violence. Though they speak out as of the year 2000 against things such as United States interference, deeming it “imperialism” and “capitalism”, they do not appear to use violence. They decry the elected party, but they have not attempted assassination. In 2011, they speak apparently in opposition of the decreasing numbers of the leftist rebel army, but the only weapon they appear to employ is sarcasm (Strategy World, 2011). These groups, from the research that has been done, recruit mainly through word of mouth and having “friends tell friends”, which is not uncommon, although they are most likely able to recruit in Colombia because of the deep levels of dissatisfaction of those that live below the poverty line. It is not certain how many people in Colombia joined these movements over the past few years, but it would not be surprising to find out that it was many. These movements do not have a hard and fast factor for “success” because it appears that their motives are to convert others to socialism, and that will no doubt be an ongoing project for them. One of the biggest social movements going on in Colombia has been under intense government scrutiny since it began. The Peasant Farmer Association of the Cimtarra River Valley was formed, like the Social and Political Front, to let the country and others around the world know that what the government is currently saying about Colombia is not true. According to them, thought the government says that there is no political unrest or “armed conflicts”, they are indeed present in Colombia, and they mean to show the world (Feder, and del Castillo Matamoros, 2007). This group was formed to right the wrongs of the rural areas: most of the land is concentrated in the hands of big landowners, killings of rural leaders are again on the rise, the fumigations of illicit crops are destroying the food crops of the poor and affecting entire communities’ health, healthcare services are essentially privatized, and the “demobilized” paramilitaries have allied themselves with common criminals and now call themselves “Black Eagles” to sew terror in the most marginalized parts of the country (Feder, and del Castillo Matamoros, 2007). As they say, everything rises in that other part of the country: the cost of food, the cost of utilities, and, of course, the repression, because in a perfect country, no one contradicts the established order and protesting means committing a crime (Feder, and del Castillo Matamoros, 2007). This movement is made up of peasant-farmers from the rural areas, and they usually do not have issues recruiting and retaining members, as everyone can see what is going on around them. There are issues in the rural environment that do exist for them, such as inadequate health care and unrest due to drug trafficking. The members that are a part of this movement wish to be there, despite government interference that has occurred in the past. For example, in September 2007, during a major mobilization of this movement, the government managed to learn of their plans, despite all efforts to keep them secret. Just before the mobilization and protest, three agents of the Administrative Department of Security, along with dozens of armed socials, raided the offices of the Peasant Farmer Association and arrested three of the leaders, putting them in prison (Feder, and del Castillo Matamoros, 2007). After the arrests, army chief General Uribe appeared on television and reported that those arrested were operatives of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia, a rebel army, and thus considered outlaws. He also reported that he had eighteen more warrants to serve, and his people would actively be searching for those persons (Feder, and del Castillo Matamoros, 2007). In the days after the arrests, rural villagers reported that the Administrative Department of Security was threatening to burn the houses of those involved in the movement (Feder, and del Castillo Matamoros, 2007). Other examples of oppression were displayed as well, all across the country. On the morning of October 8, in the village of Siberia, Mayor Berta Ligia Pantoja expressed to the peasant-farmer leaders that she was “receiving pressure to forcibly remove the peaceful concentration of peasant farmers” there, but she offered to wait until Wednesday, October 10, for a meeting between national and local government spokespeople and delegates of the protesting communities, hoping to find a way to reach agreements to solve the economic and social crisis in the area (Human Rights Commission, 2007). At the school in the village of Santa Lucia, in the same municipality, the peaceful rural protest was brutally suppressed by Special Forces of the anti-narcotics police, counter-insurgency forces. After arriving by both land and helicopter, they attacked the community using tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds against the demonstrators. This caused an unknown number of injuries, including both rubber and live bullet wounds, gashes from machetes, broken bones and injuries caused by clubs wrapped in barbed wire. (Human Rights Commission, 2007) Despite the pressure from the government, the mobilization and protest succeeded. It took place all across the country, despite government interference. It showed that the movement would not be defeated or “scared” into staying away from their objectives. It also showed the dissatisfaction with President Uribe, but also how the rural farmer movement had become united on a social front (Feder, and del Castillo Matamoros, 2007). Another social movement taking place in Colombia, again with a political agenda, is the movement of indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples comprise only 1.74% of Colombia’s population, yet they felt and continue to feel as though they have a voice that needs to be recognized and heard politically in the country’s legislature (Candial, 1995). The indigenous presence in the national scenario corresponds to a political moment dominated by the interests of “Colombian society”, where indigenous people were relegated to a marginal position (Candial, 1995). Through the years of history, they were forced to retreat from their lands and find space deep in the jungle just to survive, and not have their way of life subjected to Spanish colonization (Candial, 1995). In 2008, the movement marched on Bogota in a massive effort termed “La Minga” (Lamberty, Rincon, and Knestrick, 2008) that lasted for several weeks, with people from all over the country meeting in various places to march. The communities were protesting, among other things, the taxation of their ancestral lands (on which they lived), the takeover and pollution caused by industry of water sources in their territories, and in general, they were protesting the fact that the government had not honored past agreements that had been made (Lamberty, Rincon, and Knestrick, 2008). At the beginning of the march, some of the groups of the movement were fired upon by soldiers, resulting in injuries throughout, though the movement had apparently done nothing wrong, maintaining that they were “peacefully exercising their rights to social and political resistance” (Lamberty, Rincon, and Knestrick, 2008). This group did not need to recruit people into its efforts, as it was comprised of people that were already living in Colombia. It also did not need to recruit people due to the fact that it is made up of a very specific ethnic grouping, and therefore its membership is limited. They have, however, invited support from all fronts, and have become nationally recognized for their efforts. Examples include Amnesty International reports condemning the civil war’s victimization of indigenous peoples, as well as petitions from the League of Indigenous Sovereign Nations to end oil drilling in indigenous territory and investigate the 1999 murders of two pro-indigenous activists from the U.S. (U.N. Refugee Agency). Efforts by indigenous groups to lobby for agrarian reform or reclaim ancestral lands lost throughout the colonial and post-colonial periods have historically been met with both legislative resistance and violence from military and paramilitary group, as noted above when soldiers opened fire on them during the 2008 march. The adoption of a new constitution in 1991, however, included provisions for indigenous cultural, linguistic, political and territorial rights that have served as the basis for subsequent indigenous mobilization throughout Colombia’s ongoing civil war (U.N. Refugee Agency). These people have won both material and political gains, and have achieved success in the recognition of their issues, though those issues have not been fully resolved, as noted by that same 2008 march, which occurred after the Constitution of 1991. Inspired possibly by the success of former social movements, other movements are coming to the forefront of the Colombian society. Though they do not have a political agenda in mind, they are demanding that their voices be heard. One such movement focuses on protesting and stopping the production of gold mining in the country. Claiming that it would irreparably damage the environment, more and more people across the country are joining in support against the mining activities of the Canadian-run firm (Martinez, 2011). Most claim that the jobs that are coming in are not worth the result it will bring to the water, or the harm it will do to the environment. They also protest the safety regulations of the mining, noting that even the government has admitted safety being below standards, with only 40 officials verifying safety standards in a country of 40 million (Martinez, 2011). They also protest the dangers of the actual mining operation, as it has killed more than 100 people in 2010 (Martinez, 2011). It is ironic, perhaps, that this movement has actually brought people together in Colombia, united against a common issue. Everyone from conglomerates to indigenous peoples have turned out their support against it (Martinez, 2011). The grassroots movement, which recruits by visiting towns and villages, as well as a half-hour radio show weekly and a one-hour talk show, is hopeful that soon everyone in Colombia will be united against the mining of gold. The strategy is to draw wide attention to the devastating effects of mining on water supplies in an area with 160 sources of water, and on the surrounding ecosystems, which include fragile paramos and cloud forests. (Martinez, 2011). Social movements have and will continue to be an important part of Colombia’s society, no matter what else is being decided. Some social movements succeeded in gaining attention, while on others, it has yet to be decided. It will remain to be seen what the outcome of some of the movements bring, and how it will continue to shape the history of the country. References: Central Intelligence Agency. “The World Factbook: Colombia”. 2011. (May 2, 2011) Candial, Victoria J. “From Resistance to Organized Social Movement: A Comparative eStudy of the Indigenous Movements in Ecuador and Spain”. September 1995. University of Essex, Department of Government. < http://www.edym.com/books/eng/indigns/index.htm> (May 3, 2011). Chronicle of Resistance in Colombia, October 8-11. 2007. Human Rights Commissioner of the National Coordination of Agrarian and Popular Organizations of Colombia. (May 3, 2011) Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition. 2007. “Colombia: A History to 1855”. (May 4, 2011) Feder, Dan and Laura de Castillo Matamoros. “Colombia’s Rural Social Movement Defies Government Intimidation and Comes out to March”. 2007. The Narco News Bulletin. (May 4, 2011) Lamberty, Kim, and Sandra Rincon and Chris Knestrick. 2008. “Indigenous peoples join "La Minga" and march on Bogota.” CPT.net. (May 3, 2011) Knestrick, Chris. 2010. “Interview with Ana Teresa Lozada on Colombia, women, war, and social movements.” CPT.net (May 4, 2011) Martinez, Helda. “Colombia:Increasingly Broad Social Movements Fight Mining”. 2011. Globalissues.org.< http://www.globalissues.org/news/2011/02/07/8445> (May 2, 2011) National Front: Colombia. 2011. The Andean World. (May 4, 2011) Strategy World. “Colombia: Keeping Socialism Alive”. 2011. StrategyWorld.com. (May 4, 2011). The U.N. Refugee Agency. 2011. “Assessment for indigenous peoples in Columbia”. 03 Dec 2003.The United Nations. (May 3, 2011) Winslow, Robert. “A Comparative Criminology Tour of the World.” n.d .San Diego State University. (May 3, 2011) Wilmot, Shiela. “Guerrillas and Social Movements in Colombia”. n.d. Frontline Journal. (May 3, 2011) Read More