Importance of the armed conflict in Colombia

It is the internal confrontation that has been taking place in Colombia since the 1960s to the present, between various actors in the life of the country: the state, the paramilitary forces encouraged and supported by many governments, the guerrillas, extreme right-wing and left-wing groups, drug cartels, and criminal gangs of diverse extracts.

An internal war that delayed the country and put democratic governance at risk

It produced disastrous consequences for the economic development of the country and put in many opportunities seriously jeopardizes political stability and social harmony, essential for a nation to progress.

It also attacked the country's institutions, which of course were weakened, not to mention the migration forced from much of the population Colombian who sought less violent destinations to live.

And in the economic sphere, it knew how to act as a brake on the country's economic potential, since investments fled from a sizeable conflict marked by violence.

He promoted the birth of the violent guerrilla

It generated an abysmal rift between the sectors in conflict, which developed in the field of dialectic and also in the street, with hand-to-hand armed disputes, attacks, kidnappings, bombings, which cost the lives of thousands and thousands of Colombians involved in first person in the acts of violence, but also to the civil population, who attended as an unhappy spectator of said conflict.

It encouraged the birth and prominence of guerrilla groups that would become very popular, even outside of Colombia, such as: the Armed forces Revolutionaries of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), Motion April 19 (M-19), and Popular Liberation Army (EPL).

A fight to dominate the lands

Multiple causes encouraged the conflict that escalated decade by decade in high rates of physical violence, although the fight for land is indicated as the main trigger.

To which we can add: the virulent political confrontation between liberals and conservatives, constitutional weakness and the democratic immaturity of the country, and the social inequality that gave way to the birth of violent insurgent groups.

Drug cartels added more drama to the conflict

In the eighties it reached one of its most critical moments when the guerrillas seized various regions through intimidation and violence, and by the appearance of drug cartels that achieved unprecedented power (Cali and Medellín), and that even financed the groups insurgents.

Kidnapping was undoubtedly the resource most used by the guerrillas to subject politicians, journalists, and drug traffickers to their will.

21st century: commitment to dialogue for peace

The new millennium brought calm, not only because the guerrillas began to weaken due to the loss of their leaders, something that also happened to drug cartels, such as Medellín, with the murder of their strongman Pablo escobar.

And we must also say that from the state itself, pressured by citizens already tired of living among violent people, dialogues began to develop each time more solid and fruitful with the guerrillas, to put an end to this long conflict once and for all and finally provide peace to the citizens Colombians.

The taking of awareness Regarding the fact that persisting with such a reality was an eternal condemnation for growth, it was also key in the spirit of peace.

Fotolia art: Iguanasbear