Understanding the causes of Colombia’s conflict: political exclusion

[Judi Lynn]

Understanding the causes of Colombia’s conflict: political exclusion
Jan 5, 2015 posted by Joel Gillin

With Colombia’s peace talks back on track, the country is looking at what has caused the 50 years of violence that according to the government has left almost a million dead. One of the recognized causes is a political exclusion that is older than the country itself.

According to Father Fernan Gonzalez, a well-known academic and conflict analyst, “Colombian society has not established a consensus on the nature and origins of the armed conflict.”

Many believe that the conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (the FARC), along with the handful of other armed leftist insurgencies that have existed throughout the last 50 years, can be attributed to the individual choices and actions of these groups seeking wealth and power.

Most historians and conflict analysts, however, would posit that there exist structural factors – for complex historical reasons – that have created an environment which is conducive to violence and armed conflict.

More:
http://colombiareports.co/understanding-causes-colombias-conflict-political-exclusion/

[Peace Patriot]

1. Very informative! Well worth reading! Thanks for posting it!

It's just a bit dry and academic, but it tells essential history for understanding the present conflict and peace talks. I knew some of this--particularly that the last time that the FARC tried to demobilize and enter the political process to represent the poor majority of the country, their party was nearly annihilated by extrajudicial murders. But I didn't know how formal the exclusion of the poor majority was, by the exclusive, elitist, two-party system--the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party, neither representing the vast majority of the people of Colombia. It is hauntingly similar to what has happened here, in the U.S.