Revolutionary Social Change in Colombia

James J. Brittain

Description

Although they are one of the most powerful military forces in Latin American history, little is known about the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP). This book explains why this political military movement came into existence and assesses whether the methods employed by the insurgency have the potential to free those marginalised in Colombia.



By evaluating the FARC-EP's actions, ideological construction, and their theoretical placement, the book gauges how this guerrilla movement relates to revolutionary theory and practice and through what tangible mechanisms, if any, they are creating a new Colombia.
Dedication

Acknowledgements

Prologue

List of Diagrams, Graphs, Maps, and Tables

List of Acronyms

Preface

1. An Overview of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP): A History of Radicalism in the Countryside

2. Ejército del Pueblo: A Sociological Analysis of Radical Social Change

3. Theorizing Revolution: The Importance of Colombia

4. Colombia's Rural Political Economy in Historical and Contemporary Perspective

5. The Political Economy of Coca in Colombia, Past and Present

6. Dominant Class Reactionism: Far-Right Politics and Paramilitarism

7. The FARC-EP's Relation to (Pre)Revolutionary Social Change

8. Prospects for the Future: From 'Dual Power' to Taking Power

Bibliography

Index

Sujets

• Political Freedom
• Political Science
• Colombia

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 09 décembre 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783715992
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

REVOLUTIONARY SOCIAL CHANGE IN COLOMBIA
Revolutionary Social Change in Colombia
The Origin and Direction of the FARC-EP
James J. Brittain
Foreword by James Petras
First published 2010 by Pluto Press 345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
Distributed in the United States of America exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright © James J. Brittain 2010
The right of James J. Brittain to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN   978 0 7453 2876 8   Hardback ISBN   978 0 7453 2875 1   Paperback ISBN   978 1 7837 1599 2   ePub ISBN   978 1 7837 1600 5   Mobi
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental standards of the country of origin. The paper may contain up to 70% post consumer waste.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Designed and produced for Pluto Press by Curran Publishing Services, Norwich Printed and bound in the European Union by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne
 
To Sarah: my best friend, my confidant, and, most of all, the love of my life
CONTENTS
 
List of figures, tables and maps
List of acronyms
Acknowledgments
Foreword by James Petras
Preface
1
An overview of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia-People’s Army (FARC-EP): A history of radicalism in the Columbian countryside
The PCC’s unique organic history and response to a dual economy: party and support building in the countryside
An examination of the PCC and FARC-EP’s formation: a response to a limited analysis
2
Ejército del Pueblo: a sociological analysis of radical social change
Becoming the people’s army: The evolution of the FARC(-EP)
An evaluation of civilian support for the FARC-EP
The FARC-EP as a unique Marxist social movement
3
Theorizing revolution: the importance of Colombia
Evaluating revolution “from below”: The importance of Colombia
The potential for dual power in Colombia
4
Colombia’s rural political economy in historical and contemporary perspective
Law 135: A means to (increased) land centralization and semi-proletarianization
An introduction to the political economy of coca in rural Colombia
5
The political economy of coca in Colombia, past and present
The FARC-EP’s historic relation to coca
6
Dominant class reactionism: far-right politics and paramilitarism
A contemporary history of Colombian paramilitarism
The Castaño connection
The reactionary formation of the MAS and ACDEGAM
The MAS/ACDEGAM’s formation of MORENA
The MAS/ACCU partnership and the manifestation of fascism via the AUC
The AUC: An appendage of Colombian fascism
The historic interconnections between land, the narcobourgeoisie, and the AUC
Colombian fascism in action
The role and relation of the coca industry to the paramilitary (and guerrillas)
US links to Colombia’s narcotic political economy and paramilitarism
The AUC’s structural connection to coca
Comparing coca cultivation in AUC and FARC-EP territory
Shifts in the AUC’s focus
7
The FARC-EP’s relation to (pre)revolutionary social change
The FARC-EP’s contextual application of Gramsci’s war of position
The FARC-EP’s contestation of urban-centric power theories
The transformation of JAC: from pacifying state mechanism to revolutionary community-based institution
JACs and political pacification
The media’s structural silencing of Colombia’s revolution
The FARC-EP’s relation to revolution
How the FARC-EP has affected social conditions
How the FARC-EP has affected culture
How the FARC-EP has affected politics
8
Prospects for the future: from “dual power” to taking power
The FARC-EP’s aptitude to take state power: The DIA bombshell
A potential for collapse
A stick with no carrot: supporting revolutionary alliances
Between a rock and a hard place: the realities of contemporary global capitalism
Notes
Bibliography
Index
FIGURES, TABLES, AND MAPS
FIGURES
2.1
Number of FARC-EP fronts in Colombia
2.2
Number of FARC-EP combatants in Colombia
2.3
Organized formation of the FARC-EP hierarchal command
2.4
The FARC-EP’s interlinking support and solidarity structure
3.1
Varying approaches toward (and outcomes from) the taking of state power and revolutionary social change
4.1
Comparative leaps in general rates of rural poverty
4.2
Rates of absolute rural poverty in Colombia, selected dates
6.1
A re-examination of groups responsible for human rights violations against non-combatants in Colombia
6.2
The links between coca growth and AUC paramilitarism
6.3
Growth in national coca cultivation
6.4
A comparative examination of the insurgency/paramilitary relationship to coca cultivation
6.5
Rates of coca cultivation in departments associated with the AUC (Meta, Antioquia) and FARC-EP (Caquetá, Putumayo)
6.6
Growth of total coca cultivation in Colombia under the Uribe administration, 2002–07
7.1
The percentage of women in the FARC-EP since 1964
7.2
National percentage showings of left candidates in congressional elections, 1970–86 (UP–1986)
7.3
MBNC (PCCC) model of political organization
8.1
Colombia’s military expenditure as a percentage of GDP, 1950–2008
TABLES
2.1
The growth of the FARC-EP in municipalities throughout Colombia
2.2
Hierarchical leadership structure of the FARC-EP (in comparison with a conventional armed forces structure)
4.1
Utilized and stagnant land in selected departments of southern Colombia in 1960
4.2
A quarter-century of Colombian Gini coefficients
4.3
Five decades of disproportional land concentration – capitalist percentages
4.4
Incremental leaps in inequitable income distribution
4.5
The declining importance of conventional agriculture in the Colombian economy
5.1
Class-based taxation model employed by the FARC-EP
6.1
Narcobourgeoisie/paramilitary leadership investment portfolio, 1980s
7.1
Growth of state-supported Juntas Accíon de Comunal (JACs) since 1958
7.2
A comparative review of politically motivated assassinations in selected Latin American countries
MAPS
1.1
Area of PCC self-defense communities and early FARC-EP extension, late 1950s to mid-1960s
2.1
A visual depiction of the FARC-EP blocks of political geography
ACRONYMS
ACCU
Peasant Self-Defence Units of Córdoba and Urabá
ACDEGAM
Association of Peasants and Ranchers of the Middle Magdalena
AED
accelerated economic development
ANUC
National Association of Peasants
ARENA
National Republican Alliance
ATPA
Andean Trade Preference Act
ATPDEA
Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act
AUC
United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia
BP
British Petroleum
BPO
business process outsourcing
CDN
Canadian dollars
CERI
Canadian Energy Research Institute
CI
counterinsurgency
CIA
(US) Central Intelligence Agency
CIDA
Canadian International Development Agency
CODHES
Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement
CONVIVIR
Community Security Associations/Private Security and Vigilance Cooperatives
CP
Communist Party
CPSU
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
CRB
Bolivarian Chain Radio – Voice of the Resistance
CTC
Confederation of Colombian Workers
CUT
Central Trade Union Federation of Colombia
DANE
National Administrative Department of Statistics
DAS
Department of Administrative Security
DEA
Drug Enforcement Agency
DIA
Defence Intelligence Agency
DMZ
Demilitarized Zone
ELN
National Liberation Army
ETB
Bogotá Telecommunications Company
EU
European Union
EZLN
Zapatista Army of National Liberation
FARC-EP (FARC)
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army
FDI
foreign direct investment
FEDECAFE
National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia
FENSUAGRO
National Federation of United Agricultural Farming Unions
FMLN
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
FSLN
Sandinista National Liberation Front
FTA (TLC)
Free Trade Agreement
FTAA
Free Trade Area of the Americas
GATT
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
IBRD
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
ICA
International Coffee Agreement
ICRC
International Committee of the Red Cross
IDMC
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
IDP
internally displaced persons
IFI
international financial institution
ILI
international lending institution
ILO
International Labour Organization
IMF
International Monetary Fund
INCORA
Colombian Institute for Agrarian Reform
ISA
Interconexion Eléctrica
IUCN
World Conservation Union
JAC
Juntas Accíon Comunal
JICA
Japan International Cooperation Agency
LAZO (LASO)
Latin American Security Operation
M-19
19th of April Movement
MAS
Death to Kidnappers
MAS
Movement for Socialism
MBNC
Bolivarian Movement for a New Colombia
MNC
multinational corporation
MORENA
Movement of National Restoration
MOVICE
National Movement of Victims of State-Sponsored Crimes
NGO
Nongovernmental Organization
NSDD 221
National Security Decision Directive Number
OAS
Organization of American States
ONDCP
Office of National Drug Control Policy
OPEC
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
PCC (CPP)
Colombian Communist Party
PCCC
Clandestine Colombian Communist Party
PLANTE
National Alternative Development Plan
POLO
Alternative Democratic Pole
PSC
Colombian Socialist Party
PSR
Revolutionary Socialist Party
PST-CITO
Workers Socialist Party
SAP
Structural Adjustment Program
SIDA
Swedish International Development Coo