Positive Feedback and Vicious Circles Colombia

Preview Non-inclusive government and civil war

Non-inclusive government and civil war After a short-lived military government ended in 1958, Columbia has regularly held elections, even though the two traditional political parties, the Conservatives and the Liberals regularly rotate power and the presidency according to a 1974 pact. This pact was ratified by a plebiscite.

Non-inclusive government and civil war However, Colombia is far from a stable democracy, with violations of civil liberties, extrajudicial executions, other violence against civilians. Since a civil war in the 1950s, various militias or gangs roam the countryside, kidnapping and murdering. Gangs extort and tax local citizens by making them pay the vacuna, the “vaccination”, each month in order to prevent retribution. The militias are ideologically divided between communist guerrillas and counter-revolutionaries. But in reality, there is little difference in their behavior.

Non-inclusive government and civil war In 1981, members of the main communist guerrilla group in Colombia, the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) kidnapped Jesus Castano, who lived in the small town of Amalfi in the department of Antioquia. His family raised the $7500 ransom, but their father was killed anyway. Mr. Castano’s sons, Carlos, Fidel and Vicente formed a counter- revolutionary group called Los Tangueros to avenge their father’s death. But the Castano group and other similar paramilitary groups also became involved in murder, kidnapping and extortion, as well as drug trafficking over the years.

Non-inclusive government and civil war By 1997 the paramilitaries led by the Castano brothers formed the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC). The AUC expanded into Cordoba, Sucre, Magdalena and Cesar near the coast.

Colombia

Non-inclusive government and civil war The AUC got involved in politics in Cordoba and Sucre, but not always ethically. After the AUC met with politicians in Sucre, Mr. Cadena (“chain”) of the AUC made the voters in Sucre an offer they could not refuse: The trucks sent by Cadena went around the neighborhoods, corregimientos and rural areas of San Onofre (Sucre) picking people up. According to some inhabitants…for the 2002 elections hundreds of peasants were taken to the corregimiento Plan Parejo so they could see the faces of the candidates they had to vote for in the parliamentary elections: Jairo Merlano for Senate and Muriel Benito Rebollo for Congress. Mr. Cadena put in a bag the names of the members of the municipal council, took out two and said that he would kill them and other people chosen randomly if Mr. Muriel did not win.

Non-inclusive government and civil war The militias/paramilitaries also extorted politicians and local government officials. A pact between Martin Llanos (Hector German Buitrago) and the mayors of Tauramena, Aguazul, Mani, Villanueva, Monterrey and Sabanalarga in the department of Casanare lists the following rules to which the mayors had to adhere to by the “Paramilitary Peasants of Casanare”: Allow 50% of the municipality budget to be managed by paramilitaries. Give 10% of each municipal contract to the paramilitaries. Give assistance to all meetings called by the paramilitaries. Include the paramilitaries in every infrastructure project. Politically affiliate with the paramilitaries.

Non-inclusive government and civil war In addition to the vacuna, paramilitaries expropriated property from local citizens. Some have estimated that paramilitaries own up to 10% of rural land in Colombia.

Non-inclusive government and civil war Thus, there is not a single government in Colombia with a monopoly on violence and with the ability to tax to provide law and order and public services. While the national government mostly controls and provides services for Bogota and Barranquilla, it provides few services and almost no law and order in other parts of the country. Instead, militias effectively function as a military government by controlling politics and by distributing resources. But even in regions controlled by militias, the economy is fairly stable and people invest in businesses and education. Only when fighting erupts between various militias or between a militia and the government does the economy and society fall apart.

Armed FARC activity from 1998-2005 Number of violent events

Non-inclusive government and civil war Before the presidential election of 2002, the government of President Andrés Pastrana had failed to negotiate a peace agreement with the FARC. even though Mr. Pastrana granted a 42,000 km2 territory to the FARC around the San Vicente del Caguán. But after hijacking of an aircraft, the attack on several small towns and cities, hiring the members of Irish Republican Army to teach bomb making techniques, kidnapping of several figures and other actions, Mr. Pastrana ended the peace talks on 21 February 2002 and ordered the armed forces to attack the FARC.

Non-inclusive government and civil war In 2002, Álvaro Uribe won the presidential election partly based on his promises to secure peace with armed groups other than the FARC. But he promised not to negotiate with the FARC.

Non-inclusive government and civil war President Uribe was able to negotiate successfully with the UAC. President Uribe signed a law that allowed militias to maintain control of economic resources, including land, in return for demobilization. Some of AUC declared a cease-fire and thousands of former fighters were enrolled in government-sponsored job/education programs late in 2004. However, only about 20% of the AUC forces agreed to demobilize; other factions were less willing to negotiate with the government.

Non-inclusive government and civil war As for the FARC, the government increased its attacks and was able to capture many of its fighters in the early 2000s, but the FARC retaliated with its own attacks and kidnappings of government officials and soldiers. The FARC and the government sometimes negotiate prisoner exchanges, but often these negotiations fail. To gain popular support, the FARC redistributed land in Meta province to the poor in 2002-2003. But in 2012, the FARC and the government began peace negotiations, but no agreement has been reached yet.

Non-inclusive government and civil war Thus, lawlessness and insecure property rights remain in many parts of the country. But the civil war was officially ended in 2016. An estimated 220,000 killed since the 1964. More than five million displaced since the 1964. See https://prezi.com/uc2bzeg1ex4s/colombia-a-history-of-violence/ for a brief history of violence in Colombia. For the current situation, see https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/01/world/americas/colombias-52-year-war-is-ending- now-comes-the-hard-part.html http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2016/08/civil-war-colombia-finally- 160830180408202.html from 0:00-3:24. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/colombia-eln-talks-52-years-war- 170208052617750.html