Guerrilla movements in Colombia
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Guerrilla movements in Colombia ( es, guerrilleros) refers to the origins, development and actions of guerrilla movements in the
Republic of Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
. In the context of the ongoing
Colombian conflict The Colombian conflict ( es, link=no, Conflicto armado interno de Colombia) began on May 27, 1964, and is a low-intensity asymmetric war between the government of Colombia, far-right paramilitary groups, crime syndicates, and far-left gue ...
, the term 'guerrilla' is used to refer to
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
movements, as opposed to
right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
paramilitaries A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
.


Spanish colonial control

Different guerrilla-style movements have appeared in
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,
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
, and Colombia ever since the
Spanish conquest of the Americas Spain began colonizing the Americas under the Crown of Castile and was spearheaded by the Spanish . The Americas were invaded and incorporated into the Spanish Empire, with the exception of Brazil, British America, and some small regions of ...
. The
indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
were the first to use irregular warfare against the Spanish invaders and colonial administrations. By the early 19th century, groups of Creoles and
mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
s, segregated from the
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an-born Spaniards, participated in separatist movements opposed to local authorities and later the
Spanish monarchy , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
itself. They established "patriotic armies" (''Ejércitos patriotas'') which included both regular and irregular forces.


Colombian Civil War of 1860-1862

The Colombian Civil War of May 8, 1860 to November 1862 was an
internal conflict An internal conflict is the struggle occurring within a character's mind. Things such as the character views for, but can't quite reach. As opposed to external conflict, in which a character is grappling some force of themself, such as wars or a c ...
between the newly formed
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
Grenadine Confederation The Granadine Confederation ( es, Confederación Granadina) was a short-lived federal republic established in 1858 as a result of a constitutional change replacing the Republic of New Granada. It consisted of the present-day nations of Colombia an ...
and a more
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
rebel force from the newly succeeded region of Cauca, composed of dissatisfied politicians commanded by General
Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera Tomás Cipriano Ignacio María de Mosquera-Figueroa y Arboleda-Salazar (September 26, 1798 – October 7, 1878) was a Colombian general, political figure. He was president of Colombia four times. The first time was as president of Republic of N ...
, its former president. The Grenadine Confederation, created a few years earlier in 1858 by
Mariano Ospina Rodríguez Mariano Ospina Rodríguez was a Colombian politician, journalist and lawyer, founder of the Colombian Conservative Party and later President of Colombia between 1857 and 1861Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; ''Gobernantes Colombianos''; trans. Colom ...
, was defeated in the capital
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
, with Mosquera deposing the newly elected president Bartolomé Calvo on July 18, 1861. Forming a provisional government, with himself as president, Mosquera continued to pursue the conservative forces until their final defeat in 1862. The resulting formation of the new
United States of Colombia United States of Colombia () was the name adopted in 1863 by the for the Granadine Confederation, after years of civil war. Colombia became a federal state itself composed of nine "sovereign states.” It comprised the present-day nations ...
would have significant cultural and economic consequences for Colombia.''The Federalists'
Country Studies article
retrieved on April 16, 2007


Thousand days civil war

The Thousand Days War (1899–1902) (Spanish: ''Guerra de los Mil Días''), was a civil armed conflict in the newly created Republic of
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, (including its then province of
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
) between the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
and its radical factions. In 1899 the ruling conservatives were accused of maintaining power through fraudulent elections. The situation was worsened by an economic crisis caused by falling coffee prices in the international market, which mainly affected the opposition
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
, which had lost power.


La Violencia

''La Violencia'' (, ''The Violence'') is a period of civil conflict in the
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
n countryside between supporters of the
Colombian Liberal Party The Colombian Liberal Party ( es, Partido Liberal Colombiano; PLC) is a centre to centre-left political party in Colombia. It was founded as a classical liberal party but later developed a more social-democratic tradition, joining the Socialis ...
and the
Colombian Conservative Party The Colombian Conservative Party ( es, Partido Conservador Colombiano) is a conservative political party in Colombia. The party was formally established in 1849 by Mariano Ospina Rodríguez and José Eusebio Caro. The Conservative party along ...
, a conflict which took place roughly from 1948 to 1958 (sources vary on the exact dates). ''On April 9, 1948, Gaitán was assassinated outside his law offices in downtown Bogotá. The assassination marked the start of a decade of bloodshed, called ''La Violencia'' (the violence), which took the lives of an estimated 180,000 Colombians before it subsided in 1958.'' Some historians disagree about the dates: some argue it started in 1946 when the Conservatives came back into government, because at a local level the leadership of the police forces and town councils changed hands, encouraging Conservative peasants to seize land from Liberal peasants and setting off a new wave of bi-partisan violence in the countryside. But traditionally, most historians argue that ''La Violencia'' began with the death of
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala (23 January 1903 – 9 April 1948) was a left-wing Colombian politician and charismatic leader of the Liberal Party. He served as the mayor of Bogotá from 1936–37, the national Education Minister from 1940 ...
. The end of La Violencia is disputed, but some say it ended with the creation of a new party that took over the shared control of the government. This party was a collaboration between the Liberal and Conservative party leaders and was called the National Front. The main reason they started this collaboration was because they wanted to end the period of violence that Colombia was going through. One of the conditions to the collaboration was that all other political actors were excluded from the political process. In 1974 the party came to an official end, but still had a say in the government until the 1980s.


Colombian armed conflict (1960s - present)

In the period from 1960 until the 1990s we can distinguish two generations of guerrilla struggles. The first generation is from 1964 until the mid 70s. The main guerrilla movements in this generation are the
FARC The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army ( es, link=no, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de ColombiaEjército del Pueblo, FARC–EP or FARC) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflic ...
, ELN and the EPL. The second generation is from 1974 until 1982. In this period there is also another guerrilla movement, the M-19. The period afterwards is called the armed peace period and is from 1982 until 1985. First generation (1964- mid 70s) One of the first guerrilla movements was the FARC, established in 1966 as a reaction to the National Front. The FARC was a communist movement that grew out of a rural defense group, who believed they could bring social justice through communism. Their first leader was Manuel ''Sureshot'' Marulanda. Another guerrilla movement, the ELN, was established in the early 60s by students who got their ideas from the revolution in Cuba. Second generation (1974-1982) In the 1970s multiple guerrilla movements emerged in Colombia. One of these groups was the 19th of April Movement, the M-19. This group established in reaction to the claimed fraud that happened during the presidential elections in 1970. Armed peace period (1982-1985) In 1984 the former president of Colombia
Belisario Betancur Belisario Betancur Cuartas (4 February 1923 – 7 December 2018) was a Colombian politician who served as the 26th President of Colombia from 1982 to 1986. He was a member of the Colombian Conservative Party. His presidency was noted for its at ...
signed a ceasefire with the FARC and M-19. This ceasefire only lasted for a year, even though the armed forces of the Colombian government tried to make it last longer. The FARC and M-19 ended the ceasefire in a different way, on different dates. FARC getting stronger (1986-1999) The FARC grew bigger and stronger and eventually became the biggest and best organised guerrilla movement of Latin-America. In 1986 there were almost 10,000 combatants that fought at almost 30 different locations. More than a decade later, in 1999, the FARC grew to almost 15,000 combatants at nearly 60 fronts. The FARC was active across Colombia, in nearly 40 percent of all the municipalities. The conflict didn't stay in Colombia itself, but became a cross-border conflict. One of the biggest 'enemies' outside of Colombia for the FARC were the United States. Latest peace negotiations (2012–present) In 2012 the president of Colombia,
Juan Manuel Santos Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (; born 10 August 1951) is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. An economist by profession and a journalist by trade, ...
, and the leader of the FARC,
Timoleon Jimenez Timoleon (Ancient Greek language, Greek: wikt:Τιμολέων, Τιμολέων), son of Timodemus, of Ancient Corinth, Corinth (c. 411–337 BC) was a Greek statesman and general. As a brilliant general, a champion of Greece against Anci ...
(also called Timochencko) started peace negotiations in
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
. On the 26th of September 2016, the first peace agreement between the two groups was signed at a big ceremony in Cartagena. For the agreement to get ratified they held a referendum in October 2016. Even though they thought that they would win with 66 percent, the referendum was lost with 50,2 percent against and 49,8 percent pro the peace agreement. The negotiations continued and in November they signed the second agreement, ending a conflict that was going on for more than 52 years. A conflict that killed over a 220,000 people and displaced more than 7 million.


See also

*
Right-wing paramilitarism in Colombia Right-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia ( es, paramilitares de derecha) are paramilitary groups acting in opposition to revolutionary Marxist–Leninist guerrilla forces and their allies among the civilian population. These right-wing para ...
* Narcotrafficking in Colombia


References

{{Colombia topics Politics of Colombia