Transformation agraire et résistance en Colombie

In addition to being devastated by decades of harsh neo-liberal economic policies, Colombia has been witness to the longest ongoing civil war in the Western Hemisphere. As applied in Colombia's rural areas, such policies are focused on the domination or the economic and physical extermination of the peasantry. While Colombia's cities have not been left unscathed by the turmoil, the rural regions have been far more devastated by the civil war. Nevertheless, within this subjugated yet bucolic condition lies La Esmeralda, a clear case of unified collective resistance by peasants, workers and community activists to state-led economic, political, cultural, and military/paramilitary assaults. La Esmeralda is a core project of FENSUAGRO, Colombia's largest rural-based labour organization, which represents and defends both members and their communities. In essence, it is an experimental agricultural and educational centre that provides displaced landless peasants and other small producers a safe environment while increasing understanding of organic agriculture, gender equity, and women's rights, literacy training, and other socioeducational services. When weighed against the backdrop of the nation's contemporary socioeconomic and political context, La Esmeralda provides a stark contrast to the violent realities that have and continue to surround much of rural Colombia and demonstrates the fortitude of rural people to create a more just and peaceful society. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]