rathgeber indigenous struggles in colombia

8/18/2019 RATHGEBER Indigenous Struggles in Colombia

1/14

dwardFischer

Refere

nce

s

Bro wn, R .

McKe

n

na

et a l 199 8: Ma

ya

n visions for a multil in gua l

so

ciety: The

Guatemalan Peace A

ccord

s on Indigenous Identi ty and Lang uages. Fourth

World Bulletin on Indigeno us L

aw

and Politics

6:

28 -

33 .

Browning, John 1996: Un obstaculo imprescind

ib

le: el indfgena

en

los siglos XVIII

y XIX. Memoria del Segundo Encuentro Nacional de Historiadores

Guatema la : Universidad del Valle.

Cojtf

Cuxil, Demet rio 1997: Ri Maya Moloj a lximulew; ELMovimiento Maya.

Gua

temala: Edi

to

ri

al Chol s

am

aj .

Fi

scher, Edwa rd F.

200 1:

Cultural Logics and Global Economies: Maya Identity

in Thought and Practice. Aust in: University

of

T

exas

Press.

Fischer, Edwa rd F. and R. McKenna Brown (eds.) 1996: Maya Cultural Activism

in Guatema la. Aus tin: Univers ity o f Texas Press.

Galvez, V

Ic

tor a nd Esq uit , Alber to 1997 : The Mayan M ovement Today: Issues of

Indigenous Culture and Development in Guatemala. Guatemala City:

FL

ACSO-Guatema

la.

Lustig, Nora and Deutsc h, Ruthanne 1998: T he Inter-American D

ev

elopme

nt

B

ank

and Poverty R

ed

uct ion: An Ove rview (IADB wo rk

in

g

pape

r).

Was

hington: IADB.

Morales, Mario Rob erto 2000: Su je ros intercult ura les. Siglo X X I, Jun e l 0.

Plant,

Ro ger 1998: Ind igenou s Peo

pl

es and Poverty

Redu

ct ion: A Case Stu dy of

Gua temala (IA

DB

wo rking p

ape

r). W ashin

gto n:

IADB.

Richards,

Mi

chae l 1985 : Cos mo po

li

tan wo rl d-view a nd

co

un ter insu rgency in

Gu

ate

ma la .

Anthropological Quarterly 58

(3),

90 -

107.

Sto ll, Davis 1993: Between

Two

Armies in the Txil Towns of Guatemala. New

Yo

rk: Col

umb

ia Univers ity Press.

Wa rren, K

ay 13.

1998: Indigenous Movements and their Critics: Pan-Maya

Activism in Guatemala. Princeton : Princeton University Press.

2000:

Lessons from the

'fa

ilure' of the 1999 referendum o n indigeno us

ri

ghts

in G uate ma la . Pa per presented at the Advanced Sem

in

ar , School of American

Research,

Sant

a Fe,

Ne

w M

ex

ico, October 22- 26.

Indigenous Struggles

olombia

•

tn

i

storical hanges and Perspectives

Theodor Ra

thg

eber

The ind ige nous

moveme

nt in Co lombia pio neered the cont inent-wide

trend

of

ind igeno us organization . Since colonial ti mes, Co lombian indige

nous peop les have res isted dom i

na t

io n and economic

ex p

lo

it

ation. The

< urrent wave of ind igeno us

act

ivism began in th e 1970s, foc using on the

recovery of ancestral lands.

Over

t ime these s

tr

uggles

ex

pan

ded

to include

issues of control and pro tect ion of the environme nt , the desire to reduce

dep

end ency on the

cap

ita

list eco

n

omy,

the p

ro

tection

of

c

ul

t

ur

e

and

i

de

n

t ity,

and st

ru ggles for hum

an

righ ts a nd a

trul

y pl

ur

ie

th n

ic

co

nstitution.

In the process, indigenous g roups and organizations arose at comm uni ty,

regi

onal, natio

nal

and

in te rnat iona l levels.

As in other

co

un tr ies in La tin America , these issues were intensified by

1

11d

igenous par ticipat

ion

in the inte rnation al conferences su

rrou

nding

the

1

992 Colo

m bus Quincentennial. Indigenous orga ni

zations

used

the

se

meetings to push debates about

so

cial emancipa tion a

nd

plu riethnic

r l : ~ of the ir nat ions on to the nationa l agen das . Indigeno us groups

have

p.1 rt icipated in other

int

ernatio na l meetings since th

n

fro m the United

N.Hions

Working

Group on Indigenous Peoples a

nd

th e Vienna


2/14

Theodor Rathgeber

Overview: Colombia s Indigenous Peoples

It is

es t

im

ated

that the tota l nu m

ber of indi

ge

nou

s

pe ople in Colo

mb ia

fluctuates bet

ween

700 ,000 and 800,000, or 2-3 pe r

ce

nt

of the country s

popul

at ion.

T his esti ma te is

based

on officia l census figures that do not

include

the i

nd

ig

enous peop

le livi

ng in the

cities.

Some bildos

(

indi

ge

no us co

unci

ls) are actually func ioning in large c ities,

suc

h as Ca li, where

th

ey

have

th e

ir

governing

offices. A

ll

in

a

ll

, there are 8 1 i

nd

i

genous group

s

w ith

64

la

nguages,

l

ocated

in 27 of

the 32

depa

rtment

s (Co l

ombian equiv

a lent to states or

provinces

).

Fifty-six

groups li

ve in the

Amazo

nian Basin

and

in t

he

Llanos region.

fn

so

me regions,

suc

h

as

the

Ca

uca

Dep

a

rt

m

ent (wh

ich

has 1.2 million

inh a bitants a nd an indigenous po p ul at io n of 150,000 to 200,000), indige

nous popu

l

ation

s constitute a

ma

j

orit

y in

man

y municipa lities. The largest

g

roup

are th e N asa

(forma

lly k

no w

n as Paez) in

so uth

ern Colomb ia; a l

so

n umerous are the Embera

in

the

north

weste

rn part

of the

co

unt ry,

the

Wa

yuu in the G u

ajira

peninsula, and the Ze nu on the Atlantic

Coast

(Pineda Camacho 1995).

Two n

ationa

l an d

36

reg

io

n

al

organizations were fo

rm

ed

as

a

res

u

lt of

the

indigeno

us s truggles

of

th

e l

ast

thi

rty

yea rs. T he reviva l

of

th

e indige

no us movement in Colombia started in 1

97

1 wi th the formation of CRI C,

t he

Re

gional I

ndige

n

ous

Council

of

the

Ca

u

ca

Departmen

t.

ONIC, the

C

ol om

bi

an

N at

iona

l

Ind

igenous Or

ga n

i

za

t i

on,

w

as es

tab lished as an

um

bre lla federation in 1982,

rep

resenti ng the

vast ma

jo rity of the

indi

ge

nous g

roups. OPIAC,

the

Organizat

i

on of

th e Indige

nous

Peoples of the

Colombian Amazon , was formed in 1995.

It

re pr esents the indigenous

peoples of the Amazonian Basin

an

d is pa rt of CO lCA, the Coordination

of Indige

no u

s

Orga

nizations in the Amazonian Basin. T

wo

nation al

po l

it

i

ca

l

parti

es we re also formed in th e l990s: ASI, the Social Indigeno us

Al liance, and

MI C,

the Colombian Indi

geno

us

Moveme

nt.

To

a

grea

t

ex

ten

t,

the

orga

nizatio nal

fragme

nt

at

i

on can

be

at tributed

to the patterns of se ttl ement throughout what is now Co lom bia. The

indig

eno

us peoples

we

re l

arge

ly

orga

nized on the

ba

sis of sm all commu

nit ies a nd

we

re only m

arg

ina

ll

y

aware

o f im pe

ri

a l reg imes such

as th

l'

Inca.

This constellation made it difficu lt fo r the Spanish to impose thc i1

regime evenl y across all the

regio

ns.

Only in

e

mer

g

enc

y si tuations or

in

the

case of wa

r

did peopl

e orga nize

th

emselves

at

th e regional l

ev t l.

Inst

ea

d, the Ind ian groups were organized at the local or community leve l,

often b

ased on

traditional

st

r

uctur

es such

as

the minga

co

llect ive wo rk

p

erfor

med

by

a

ll

the

members of the commun

ity. Th e

minga

co

ntinues to

be rec

ogn

ized as an

institu

ti

on

that helps to mnintn in the

collect

ive ide

nti

ty . Eve n

today

, te rrito

ri

.d di pt' ' ' o

is

n fnct

or

tlt.tt

com

p

li

c

at

es the

pro cec;s

es of

so

c

in

l .1nd pol1111 .d ' ' ' l l · ' i lw yo

11d

com munit y lr vcl-. {I11Hiig .

111

d 1\ 11111/t ' l I

II

H\ )

Ub

Indigenous Struggles in Colombia

Historical, Social and Political Context

o

the

Contemporary Indigenous Struggles

Unti l the

ea

rly 1960s the system of

owner

ship of la rge hold

in

gs

in Latin

A

meri

ca,

kn

ow n

as latifundismo wa

s the

economic

inst itu

tio

n

that

s

truc

tured

socia l and pol it i

ca

l interests. Through

this

sys

tem

, s

ocietal

values

were

art

i

culate

d

and

c

ul

tural

identities

wer

e p l

aced

into

a

hi

e

rarchi

cal

st

ructur

e.

The

i

nd

igenous -

and

pea sant ry -

were forced

in to

ma

r

gina

l

ization , w here their ex istences were l

itt

le above the level

of

sur viva l.

at

ifundismo h

as

given

way

to neolibera li

sm as

the

ma in

force

and

ideo

lo

gy

st r

u

ctu

ring

Colomb

i

an

society toda

y.

T he

eage

rness

to

commod i

fy

a ll

aspects

of life,

an

d to explo it natura l reso urces w ithout

hounds

affects even th e most remo

te co mm

unit ies . Acco rd ing to this

ide

ol

ogy,

soc

i

ety

mu

st

be regul

ate

d

only to th

e

exte

nt t

hat

the free

flow

of

capi

tal is not hindered. Go ods an d services are va l

ued

on

stric

tl y

LCOn

omi

c crite ria. Po lit i

ca

l and social

qu

es

tio

ns a re sub

su med

to th ese

vnl ues, which req uires the adaptation of the country s social, politica l an d

<

ul

tura l

cond

itions to a m a

rk

et i

deo

logy . O ne pr ime e

xa mpl

e is the

acc

el

r

ratio

n of

exploitatio

n

of

t

he

natur

al res

ou r

ces, even in en

viron

m

enta

ll

y

e nsitive areas . Co lom bia is one

of

many co un tr ies in Lat in Amer ica tha t

rapidl y expanding the

extracti on of

mw

mate

r ials

as

a result of this

ne

olibera

l push.

The

results

of this assau lt on the environm ent co uld

be

s

ee

n d ur ing the

1

99

0s. The govern ment of

Cesa

r Gav iria ('1990-4

),

gave private

compa

ics, especia

ll

y

thos

e invest ing in

raw

m

ate

ria ls, the green

li

ght

in sp

ite of

the l

ega

l

rest

rict ions that pro tec ted

co mm

una l la

nd

s. Crude oil b

ecame

one

of the

most

important

mater

ia ls for export and

fo r

eign

reven

ue.

Th

e

An

dr

es

Pastra

na

adm

ini

stration

(1998-2002)

modified

the m inin g la

w,

1111plcmenting a

Mining

Code that weakened the established mechan isms

nl consultatio n a

nd

parti cipation

with the

affected co

mmu

nities.

l'll'v iously, every phase

of

a project re

qu

ired an env

ironm

enta l license that

dlmved for the presentation of con

ce rn

s by th

ose

affected. Since 2000,

ltnweve r, a ll

impac

t

eva

lu

at

ion pro

ced

ures have bee n red uced to a sing le

II VIronm ental li

ce

nse, transfo rming wh at was once a coordinated and

J

oll

t ici

pa tory

process into a simplified pro-forma process. T his threatens

1l11

·

prov

isions

of th

e

nationa

l constitution a

nd

interna

tiona

l agreements

('oi iLh ns Co n

vent

ion 169 of the Int erna tio nal La bor Organization), wh ich

Juntl·ct in

digeno

us

terr

itorial autonomy.

i

t the

po

l ti

ca

I level, the sce

nari

o presents itself less

unilate

rally,

dt houg h it fo llows s

imilar

lines. The latifundismo structure was a factor

tIt

I lwlpt·d s

11

stain th e authoritar ia n regime th

at

culm i

nated in

t

he

civ

il

1\.

11 k11ow

n

l.a Vio/encia

{the violence), w

hi

ch r

avage

d the country

"''''" \ tI

ll

·

1

1

)

1

0

-.

.

111d

l lJ

50s. M

11rdv1 , i11t

11111d

.tt io11, :tnd eviction o f those

U


3/14

Theodor Rathgeber

who di

sag

reed wi th the system beca me the off icial i

nstruments

for so lving

the soc ia l cr isis. None

of the ma

in actors responsib le

for

the crimes have,

thus far, been brought to justice. No r did this system come to an end with

the ag

reem

en

t si

gn

ed by

th

e politicians

to

end t he civil

wa

r.

Th

e N at

iona

l

Front, in effect between 1958

and

1974, was a

pact

between the

li

beral

and conservative pa

rt

ies to share politi

ca

l power in o rder to pacify th t

co

un try. Under the formally dem ocratic

Nationa

l F ro

nt

regime, electiom

were openly manipu la ted , discredit ing the most fundamental participa

to

ry ins

titution: the

vote.

Po

li

tica l violence became end emic. W ith th e

pr

etext

of

contai ning thl.

guerrillas, t

he

gove

rnme

nt of j ulio Cesar

Turbay

(1978-82) imposed :

wave of re

pr

ess ion tha t ended mos t socia l p rotest. In th e second

half

of

the 1980s, the electo ral

part

icipation

of

the Uni6rr Patri6tica (

Patr

iotic

Union, a leftist pa

rt

y fo rmed by for mer guerrillas) ended in disas ter: d eat h

squads

and param

il

ita ry groups ann ihila ted

mo

st of

it

s leaders. Similarly,

du ring the

pr

esidential

campa

ign

of 1989-90,

three o f the president ial

cand idates wi th the best chances

of

being elected were kil led.

In 199 1, as we discuss below, t here was a n im

porta

nt

po

li tical

proc

ess

wh

ich resulted in ref

orms grant

ing rights to indigenous and peasan t

gro ups. Yet, the current president, Alvaro Uribe (2002-6) seems to haw

t ~ k e n

on th

e au

tho

rit

ar

i

an

style

of

Pr

esi

dent

Turbay.

Accordin g

to

decla

rations made by the Home Affairs Mini ste r Fernando Lon dono, the

r i g h t

granted by the 1991 constitu ti

on

wi

ll

be restricted. It appea rs that on ly

the

actors

of the dirty

wa

r have c

ha

nged. I

nstead

of the s

ta

te acting

aio

the m

ain

source of repression, as was the case in the time o f the Turbay

regime , now the par ami litar y or self-defense g roups are crushing wha t

they consider subv ers ion. Th ey are no t alone,

of co

urse, since they recei

ve

support from the state forces as we ll as the whol e socia l env ironment

wh

ich a

llows

the repressi

on.

T he Ur ibe admi nistr

atio

n is also

bent

o n

creatin g a rural militia c

om p

osed

of

peasan ts a nd a network

of

an d vigilan tes.

lt is a lso clear that guerr illa groups a lso act w ith th e sa me ra tiona

li

ty,

and th

at

they are

an

integral

part of

the problem. Due to the basis of thci1

income - especially that coming from taxes on drug-traffick ing,

kidn

ap

p ing, and bl ack mailing of oi l co mpan i

es

there is little need n

ow

for them to try to reac h an

und

ers

tandin

g with the rest of society .

pressure com mu nities into supplying them w ith food and fue l, recruiting

youngs

ter

s by force.

Th

us,

the

military logic

of

so lving the crisis th rough

a rmed co nflict a

pp

ea rs to have been ad

opted

by all ac tors. The wa r i,

directed n ow at the society as a whole, and protesting this brings subs

t:111

rial

ri

sks. The state of emergency has become

routi

ne, a

nd part

icip

atio

is increasing ly being restricted

to

activ ity within cliente list netwo rks.

Co lombia, author itarianism has been a histor ica lly

com

mon appronch ttl

managing

th

e rel

at

i

ons

hip between state

and

soc iety, and is a lways con d

crcd as a first option when it is necessary to de:1l with a crisis (Gui ' ll1 .tllt '/

IOU

ndigenous Struggles in Colombia

11f l977; Pizarro 1985; Sanchez and

Peiiaranda

1986; Sanchez

Gomez

l

lJ9

1, Human Rights

Wa

t

ch

1996,

1998;

Pecaut 2002) .

The Reforms of he 1990s

l Jnder t he slogan o f modernization

of

the st

ate,

a legal framework

was

rstablished to allow for wid

er ar t

iculation between sectors

of

the society.

-.L·ve

ral

important

reforms

were m

ade

to

th

e

const

itu

tion

a

nd the

po

litica l

t

ructure wh ich proved helpfu l

to Co

l

om b

i

a's

indige

nou

s peoples.

During the admin istration of Virgi lio Barco

(1

986-1

990),

the impl e

mentatio n of the ini tia tives tak en by the government of Belis

ario

Bet

anc ur

( 1

982-

19 86)

co

ntinu ed, especia ll y state decen traliza tion. Ac

co

rd ing

to

1oisier (1999), the

wi

nds

of

decentral izat ion were bl

owi

ng a ll over

I

Hi

n America by then. Mo re than LOO years after the first

at t

empt (in

IH63), the first d irect elections for t

own

counc ilors an d mayor

took

place

111 1

988

. The Gaviria go vernment a l

so

extended the direct vote to the

el

ec

tion of depa rtme ntal

governo

rs.

The num ber o f town

co

uncil

ors

and ma j

ors

w

ho

presented themselves

.t., inde penden t increased greatly with the opportunity for direct voting

lor

l

oca

l

re

presentatives .

Ho w

ever , the

ex

pec

ted break-

up

of

the hege

lllony of the two traditi

ona

l parties and th e cliente list system was n

ot

.tl hieved. One imp o

rtant

result , however, was tha t the electo ra l reform

.tllowed indigen

ous grou

ps

to

elect their

ow

n loca l au thorities and

ob

tain

l('prcsenta tion in depar tm enta l assem blies

and

the n

ationa

l Co ngress. ln

t

lt

c

20

00 elect

io

ns an indigenous can did

ate,

Floro T unub

ala,

was elected

11ove rn

or of

the Cau

ca

depa

rt

ment.

Tog

ether w ith fi

ve other

governors,

IH· openly opposed the n

at

iona l gove

rn ment's

po licy of fumigation

of

dlrga l drug c

rop

s (Fa ls Borda 1989; Restrepo

1991;

Rathgeber 2001c;

I .

1Jar

do 20 01).

Wit h the new const itution of 19 91 (A rt .] 03), the Gavi ri a government

t ~ l d d

more parti

cipato ry cle

ment

s, particula rl y at the loca l level. O ne

,

\;tmp

le is the transfer

of

f

und

s to the municipal ities, which is now

an

tlltportant item

in

the budget

of indi

ge

nous or

ga

n izations .

Under

t

hi

s

,, lll'me, the muni cipal ity (or a n

ot

her public entity of the sa me type such

,., the indigenous councils)

pr

esents p ro jects for the im provement

of

ptlh

lt

c ed ucat ion, public hea lth , or ot her loca l services. Once the p ro ject

' .tpp

rov

ed ,

the

municipa li ty has

the

ri

ght to

receive tra nsfers from

the

, 1

11t1 al state to cover m

ost

of th e costs

of the

project. Another factor th

at

1

qw

tt

cd the way for more par ticipat io n was the provisi

on

of lega l instru

ttll' ltl th::t

ta

llow citizens

to

claim their rig

ht

s vis-a-vis the sta te. In the case

1 the indigen

ous

gr

oups,

it is p

ar t

icu la rl y important that they

can

exe r

t thdr

derec

ho

de tutela

their r ight to use injunction

s,

to make sure

tiLt

I

tiH·y n: co

nsulted before projects a re ca rri ed o

ut

in their a

rea

s of res i

dl 'll\ t'. l low( VL' r, nn inj unction no t gu:1r:1n tcc thnt the gove rn ment

IU f


4/14

Theodor Rathgeber

w ill

comp

ly, especially when the

project

s have

to do

wit h oil

extraction

or

th

e exp l

oita

t ion of other natural resources. For all its importance as a

mec

han ism that

seeks

to

promote

partici

pat o r

y,

d

emocrat

i

c,

and trans

pa r

en t proced ures in government, the fact is tha t the

tutela

right has

become a conflict-r idden legal issue.

Why

did

the government

make

th ese

changes?

Th ere were important

fac

to r

s behind these reforms. O n

the one

hand,

the Gavir

ia

government

was keen on mode rn izing th e institutiona l apparatus of the state. It was

ev ide

nt

th

a

t,

apa

rt fro m

the

violence,

Co

l

ombia's

polit

i

ca

l

system

was

unde

rgoing

a crisis of governance. Eve n indu st ry had comp la ints

about

the inefficiency of the adm

inistration,

und

erscoring

the need to improve

the

management

and regul

atio

n

of

the

state

.

In the same way,

i

nternation

al

insti

tu

tions at the bilateral as we

ll

as the mult

ilatera

l leve l - call

ed

f

or

an

innovation of the tradition

al pol

itica l stru ctures and emphasized t

he

need for

democrat

iza t ion " a

nd pa r ti

cipati

on

in dec ision-mak ing.

To

th is

end,

the

state's regulatory ca pac ity at the n

ational

level

was

reduc

ed

in

so

me sectors,

espec

ially in

relation

to t

he

welfare question, and at the loca l

level it had less infl uence

vis-a-vis

the

eco nom y.

In o

th

er areas, for

exam

pie

the

issuing

of

licenses for

minin

g and o il pr

od

u

ct

ion, there was

:

co

nce

ntration of tr

an

sac tions at the

st

ate

leve l in o r

der to

" incr

ease

effi

ciency. T hese

mo

d

ernizing

efforts also pa

ved

the

way

for the

sackin

g of

em

ployees and wo rkers of na tion a l insti tutions, thus complying wi th th e

neolibera l challenge

of

a minimized state.

ln

th is sense,

the

modernization

of soc iety is

not

limited

to

the free trading of

goods (No

lte

1996).

On

the other hand, modernization r

efor

ms provided political o p e n i n

for

soc ial

movements, wh

ich had demanded increased di rect participatio 11

since

th

e beg in

ning of

the 1970s. They used the refo rms

to

revitalize

rlw

po litica l field at the m unicipa l level, push for fu ll

pa r

t icipati on

for

all citi

~ e n s

an d sea r

ch fo

r ways

to

reg ul

ate the soc

ial crises

wi t

h civ il (that

i,

,

non-military) methods . Colombia 's history is character ized by th1

strugg le

aga

inst structu res imposed by the r u ling

classes

: the centurit·,

long in

digenous

res is tance; the

co

mmoners' rebellion

that

preced

ed

tlu

independ

ence

movement in 178 1; the craftsm en's struggle fo r

democr;h

1

in 1854; th e

socia

l p r

otes

ts of the 1930s; the ra di

ca lizat

ion of agran.111

reform in

the

1

960s

and 1970s; the

regional

and

urban

civic m o v e m c t ~

that

started in the second half of the 1970s; and the confluence

of

li11

indigenous and

civic

movements advocat

ing for a

mult

i

cultura

l

nati1111

Despite

the

pervasiveness of armed conflict

and

repressi

on,

these

sm

1tl

forces and thei r debates and activities showed that there were actor'> w ill•

the potentia

l

to

d i

ssent

w ithin

democratic framework

s .

Their

prol '

'l

·

forced

governmen

ts

to

adjust

their

programs

and

develop n

ew

in,llll

ments

that

wo uld fac ilitate nego tiations with the d issa ti sfied scc to1 ' \

case in point were the m

ob

i

liza t

i

ons

- w ith i

nt

ense invo lvement

of itH

IIJ\1

no us

gro

ups- th at

co

n

tributed to

th r c ' t.lhl lllncnt of :1 l.., l,tt•

Atto rney offit't' th :lt

monitm'

h111ILIII

IIJ

\111 '

\llli ltiO

il '

.111d

tlllll llll l . lito

U


Colombian government to cooperate wi

th

t he Internation a l Com

mission

for the

Pro

tec

tio

n of

Hu

m

an

Rights.

Once aga

in,

however, there

is

no

guaran tee tha t state age ncies will

comply with th

eir consti

tu

tional duties

(Meschka t et a/.

1980;

Garda 1981; Zamosc 1986; Chaparro 1989;

Rat hgeber

1991;

Huhle

2000

).

These legal and

political

changes n

ow

make it possible for the indige

nous movement to expand its power, representation, and participation .

This is

happening on

a

number of

levels. Some

of the decentral

i

zation

r

eforms now

a

llow

the

cabildos

or indi

genous co

uncils,

to

d

ir

ect

fund

ing

for biling ual schools,

to

build hea lth

centers

with trad itional and western

medicine, an d

to set

in p l

ace

a wa ter an d energy infras

tru ct

u

re

w ithin a

Lommuna l regime (not p ri va tized).

Th

e indigenous pop ulation also

111vested in small in

dustr

ies

and

o ther in

co

me-gener

at

i

ng

ventures.

They

we re also ab le

to

regain

some of

their t rad itio nal legal jurisdiction,

which

.li lowed room, once again, for the institutionalizat ion

of

ind igenous

1

onfli

ct

resolution

proces

ses .

This has

no t bee n without te n

sion

s,

however, as some comm unity members (for exam ple, those

who

saw a

physical punishment as a violation

of

ind ividual human ri ghts) questioned

this ind i

genous

jurisdict i

on

.

Others

conflicts emerged . fn

the

past, it

was

h.trd to find a new governor for a n ind igenous resguardo {rese rvations

dlocated

to

the

i

ndigenous

peoples

in

co

l

onial

t imes).

Si

nce the

posts

at

1

l

l'

cabildo

of a

resguardo

imply access

to

funds, there is now stiff

com

pe

tit ion fo r t hese jobs .

'l'hus, wh ile i n other countries decentra lization was often implemented

1

11

:1

half-hear ted man n

er,

in

Co

lomb ia, dece

ntra

l

izat

i

on

re

forms were

l

.t

kcn as a se rious challenge .

In

a sh

ar

p departLlre from past p ract ices, in

lhr 1990s,

soc

ia l movements

an

d organ iza tions

were

able

to

tr ansform

~ t l n 1 r a t i v e

reform

in to

a r ea l revit

alizat

i

on of po

l it ics, especially at the

11 11 11 eve

l.

The indigen

ous

organizations in seve

ra

l regions of the country

liT

It' among the m

ost com

mi

tted

players in this process.

Indigenous Groups as Social ctors

\ ltc ll refe rr ing to the indigenous movement as a soci

al

actor in the current

I''

11

m

l,

we cannot forget the history of ind i

genous

resistance

against

illllllll,lt ion since the

Span

ish conquest, or the other complex processes

tit

11

h.1vc a llowed their culture to be maintained, in particul

ar

in remo te

I IIIII

' w ith a d ifficult topography and

thus

difficult access.

Furthermore

,

lllolll\l 'llous peop les

developed

a surprising capacity

to adapt

some colo

It

tl 111•.t i1ut io ns to thei r

own

pu rposes . The cabildos or l

ocal

co uncils,

"

'

' ' ti t11t ed in

Span

ish

co

lon i

11

t imes with the

goa

l

of

having commu

1 1111 111.111.tgc their own pown y. This type of self-

government wa

s

il lolliilld. ltcd

hy

11:1tion :d .1111

1

dl'p.lllllll' llt.tl l:l

w'

p:1sst•d in the 1

890

s. In

du I I 0•, , ilw llldl

j ,t IICIII • IIIII Vl

llll 111

to Hoi

.td viiiii ,IJ,\' of th r o f


5/14

Theodor Rathgeber

these laws, t ran sfor ming the cabildo in

to

the ins tituti ona l b

as

is for

winning a uto n

om y

.

T he

main

ind igenous protagonist of that per iod,

CR

IC, emerged

fight ing al ongs ide peasant organizat

ions

for a cha nge in the d is

tr

ibu tio n

of rural land and for d

em o

cratizat i

on

of soc iety. CR IC advocated not on ly

indigeno us

terr

ito ries, bu t a l

so

for tr

ad

it iona l rights, the mainten

an

ce of

ind igenous customs, and the impo rtance

of

cu ltura l d iversity in the

co untry. t became the m

ode

l fo r

reg

ional ind ige nous organizat ions . From

its beg

inn

ing in 1

97

1,

Cauca's

in

di

geno us

movement

att

rac

ted

att

e

ntion

because

of

the

st ren

gth of its mob ilizations even in times of repression.

T he great

cap

acity o f

it

s

le

aders to convoke gat herings gener ated its own

dyna mic, whi ch - acc

ord

ing to

co

nserva ti ve est imates - resulted in the

reclaiming

of

m

or

e than

35 ,

000 hectares of l

an

d t hat h

ad

been previously

occ upied by la rge landowners a nd the church .

(CRIC

est i

ma

tes a re o n the

or

der

of

60,000 hecta res.) Th ey a lso did

away

with oth er d ut ies s uch as

the pol l tax, elimina ting the bases for the po lit ical do mina n

ce

exe rcised

by the

landowners

.

In the 1980s, the indigenous populat ion

of

the Amazo n bas in succeeded

in ob

ta

in ing guarantees to ap p

rox

imately 18 millio n hectares . Th is ex pan

sio n of indigeno us ter

rito

ries

was deep

ly

cr

itic ized by

prev

ious

gove rn me

nt

s a

nd

investors because it h

am

pered

ex

p

lo it

at

i

on

of na

tu

ral

resources in t he

reg

ion. The recovery of ances t ra l land

mea

nt not only the

further ava

ilabil ity of

ad

d itional la nd

to sa t

isfy the n

ee

ds of the families

of the ind igenous po pul

at

ion, but a lso loca l governance, con trol, and

utilization of the

in

dig

enou

s te rri

to r

ies accordi ng to their own rules a nd

meth ods. T hese ach ievemen ts d id not come abo ut wi tho ut losses: between

197 1

an

d 20 00,

ap

proxim

at

ely

60

0 indigeno us leaders were killed,

and

for the m

ost

part the ir assassi

ns

remain unpu nished (Rathgeber 19 94;

Pineda Ca mac ho 1995; CR IC 1997, 2000).

From 1

980

onward, the po liti

ca

l platform

and

disco urse of the CR IC

an

d the na t

iona

l ind i

genou

s orga nizati

on ONIC promoted

the auto n

omy

of the indigenous co unc ils. In 1985 the cabildos in the Ca uca

reg

io n

presented the Vitonc6 resolut ion, which wo

ul

d become a landmark for

the a uto nom y of i

nd

igen

ous

commun

it

ies. T he

co

n

cep

t of autonomy

consisted

of

the managemen t o f na tura l resources by the communit ies, the

election of their

in

di

gen

ous representatives

accor

ding to their traditi

on

,

and the development of their ow n rules, all financed by funds ava ila

bl

e

from the

pu b

lic bu dge t (so-ca lled tr an

sfers )

and backed by a system of

jus tice b

ased

on their c u

stomary

law

(Rat

hgeber

1994;

Pi

ne

da

Ca

macho

1995; Bonilla 1995) .

T he indigenous movement a lso touched on the issue

of

seeking civi l

so

lut ions for social conflicts. O ne of the

mo

st not 1hlr successes was tlw

1984 CR IC ag reement w ith the

o n : ~

p 'I

l

l 1

)1

. ;; \N, the C:1t t lc

Ra isers Pede

r:1t

ion, whose mcmlwrs h,uJt , ,u lt ttnllodl l t l ~ t pM;un ilit.l l )

h n n d ~

to

r c p r r ~ ~ tlw th.l l tl u 'd

11''"'

Il l

'' tl1111

l

tllcl

' l11 tl

11o.

h'

l',

h

l)


vio lent situati

on,

bot h pa rt ies

put

emphasis on a dialogue to safeguard

their own inte rests. The cattle raisers agreed to peacefully s o lve

the

land

co

n

fl

icts involvi

ng

ind igenous communi ties, w hile

CR

IC p

ro

mised to use

its influence to p ut an end to the land

invas

ions. Some

gr

oups on the po lit

icalleft

denou nced the agreement as t reason, bu t mos t of the ind igenous

com

m

un

ities supported i t, sin

ce

it a

llowed the

m to consol i

da

te

thei

r t

er

r

i-

tories in a time of war. T he C RIC/FEDEGAN agreement beca me one

of

the few exa mples in Co lomb ian h istory in w hich civilian a ctors were a ble

tO

solve a major

soc

ial

conf

li

ct

with

ou

t

th

e i

nt

er

ve

nt

i

on

of

st

ate

a

uth

ori

ties . Sti ll, in many other regions of the co un

tr

y, indige nou s gr oup s suff

ere

d

the consequences of the dirty war that developed in t he second ha lf of the

1980s. ·

Using the same app roach, Ca uca's indigenous move ment opted fo r

estab lishing a d ia l

ogue

with state in

st

itutions. After the mid-198 0s -

when

the a rmed

co

nf lict became more acute and the Cold Wa r cr ushed many

ocial mo vements and

tr

ade unions - th e CR IC tried to convince the

govern men t, the Ca th olic Ch

ur

ch, a nd even the mil ita ry to impleme nt the

civil option to so lve the conflict. At the nat i

ona

l level, it ach ieved the

creation of a Depart ment of Indigen

ous

Affairs at the Attorney Genera l's

Of fi

ce

fo r th e investiga tion of

abus

es

co

mmitted by the mi l

itary and th

e

police

on

indi

geno

us te r

ritor

ies. Since l

996

the indi

genous

p

eo

ples in the

Antioqu ia region have been tr

yi

ng to reach

an

agreemen t w ith the armed

grou

ps-

the

guerr

i

ll

a

and

the p

aramilit

ary -u

nder

which

th

eir a utonomy

wit hin t heir terr itO ries is to be respec ted , as is their neutra lity vis a vis the

ongoing battl e fo r powe

r.

The guer ri ll as rej

ec

ted the agreement and it

seems that the Uribe gove rnm ent w ill do the sa me; yet, th e s tate is now

trying to induce the ind igenous grou ps to co llab orate with state secur i

ty

forces, even

thou

gh they do no t share the sa me notion of n

at

ional secu

rity. The dialogues

co

ntri buted

to

the

precar

ious ba lance between those

in favor of, and th ose aga inst, mili tarizat io n.

The co

ntinued

milita rization thr

eate

ns to bring soc ial a

nd po

lit i

ca

l

;Kt

ivity in t he ind igenous

co

mm unities to an end. It o bstructs the supp ly

of food and medicine and restricts tas ks car ried out in the different

climatic zones

(ope

n

-air

rel igio us ceremonies

and com

m

una

l assembl ies)

.1nd even in central urban areas . The ind igeno us aut horit ies recognized by

l.1w need

permi

ts from the milit

ary

or

guer

rilla comma nders to move

with in the region or to

ca

ll m

eet

ings.

The

gu

err

ill

as

of the FARC

(<

:o lom bia's Revo lu t io nary Armed Forces), have

at

t imes impeded ind ige

ltous efforts to recupera te territory because it is not

conve

nient to their

obj ectives. T he fighting bet

ween

of

th

e

state's

fo rces,

th

e pa ra

llli li tnry, and the guerri llas is threa tening the physi

ca

l ex istence of the

111d igc no us communi ties. T he indigenous gro up

Q

uint in Lame,

was

IClmlt'd in 19H4 ns :1 self-defense group aga inst the landowners' paramil

lt ,liY r o u p ~ It h.1d li ttle ntil it:Hy :

H:

t ion, hut w:1s suppor ted by the local

Jll 'llp il', NI VI' It lwlt·o.,•,, 111 m 1 of it o. indigt'll lll\ lt·:H

kr

o r c : 1 l i : ~ n l tha t the


6/14

Theodor Rathgeber

a

rm

ed

approac

h did

no

t suit the needs

of the co

m

munit

ies, or the concept

of autono my, and so the group

was

disso lved

at th

e beginni ng of

the

1

990s

(Rathgeber 1994, 2002; Bonilla 1995).

Despite the militarization of the cou

ntry

, and the difficu lt ies it causes

them, indigen

ous

organizations have still been ab le to accomp lish signif

icant cha nge.

Probably

the mo st impo rtant have been the

constitution

al

reforms in 1991.

Th

e indigenous move me

nt

brought its impressive discur

sive ab il ities to the debates of the 1991 Constituent Assem bly, wh ich came

as the

co unt

ry

took

a bri

ef

i

nt

erl ude from

th

e

wa

r to try

to bring th

e

ar

med

conflicts

to an

end.

In

digenous organizations were represented by three

elected assembl y mem bers who we re able to get some sign ifi

ca

nt provi

si

ons

passed i

nto

the n

ew

con

st

itution. U

nder

the

reforms,

the sta te h

as

the following

ob

li

gat

i

ons

:

to

r ecognize and pr otect th e ethnic an d cul tur al

di versity of th e cou nt ry (art. 7); to ensure equality an d safeguard the

dig

ni

ty

of

th e different cultures (art .

70); to

recognize traditi

ona

l ind ige

no us in

st

i

tu t

ions (art.

72

); to guard th e co llective property

of

the

indige no us territor ies and grant them the status of Indigenous Territorial

Entities (art.

63,286

and 329);

to guaran

tee ances

tr

al relig ion (art. 18 and

19); to respect the r igh t to a sus taina ble develop ment an d to consult with

the ind igenous commun it ies when a proposed project rela tes to ind ige

no us t

erritory (art.

79, 80

a

nd

330);

to

give officia l s

tatus

to

th

e

indigenous languages and estab lish bi lingual education in the ind igeno us

territories

(art. 10,

68.5);

to guarant

ee

autocht

hono us systems

of

justice

wi t

hin the indigen

ous

te rritories (art. 246); and to ensure a minimu m of

indigenous representation

at

the parliamentary leve l (art. 17 1 and 176).

Th

e

in

di

ge

n

ous pop

ul

ation

witn essed the enshr ineme

nt of

the ir funda

mental rights in th e constitut ion; an event without precedent in the his

to

ry

of Col om bia (Bonilla 1995; Pineda Camacho 1995; ON IC 1

996a;

M uyuy

Jacanamejoy 1997).

Th e ot her arena in wh ich indigenous peoples have been ac tive is in th e

search for pea cefu l so lutions to the wa r. In 1996, the indigenous move

m

ent

mo bilized

at

national level

to

push this

is

sue. The govern

ment

of

Ernesto Sam per (1994-8)

had

not complied with the va rious agreements,

and t he nu mber of leaders killed h

ad

increased dr amatica lly. In the

Cauca

region, the Pa ez, Totor6, and Yanacona gro ups h

ad

secu

red

their la

nd

rights with the hand ing over

of

more than 20,000 hectares betwee n 1992

and 1994. With th e occ upation of the Episcopa l

Confe

rence headquarters

and of

other pub

lic build ings

and

the b loc

kin

g

of

the Pan-American

Highway and other important roa ds, th e indigenous population pressured

the governm

ent in t

o signi ng

two

decrees.

Th

e first one

(No

. 1396/96)

created the Human Rights Co mmission fo r the Ind igenous Peoples. The

second (N o. 1397/96) created the Na tio na l

Com

mission for lndi genow.

Terr

itories.

Th

is l

at

ter decree h

ad

the tas k - :1 111 0 111 .

ot hn s

of

defining

the tim eline for the issuing of t itl es :1nd thl

p 1 1 1

1 o l 1 1 1 1 d

A Perm:1nent Co unc

il

of /\glt'l'lllt'

ll

l .111d

<

1 lth tilt· llldlgt'IIOI I\

4

n

igenous Struggl

s

in olombia

Peoples

and Organizat

i

ons

were als o established.

The participation of

regiona l and nationa l organiza tions did not preclude the inv

ol

veme

nt

of

local o rganizations in the negotiat ions . The Hu man Rights Commission

and th

e Pe rmanent Council st ill

ex

ist. T he

prov

ision that created the

Commission for the Indigenous Territo r ies was abolished later by the

Pastrana gove

rnment.

In the past three yea rs, the ind igen ous

pop

ula t ion in the

Ca

uca region

estab lished a terri

tory of

coexistence, d ia logue

and

negotiatio n in the

c

ommu

ni t

y

of

Pien

dam6

, n

ext

to

th

e P

an-A

merican

Highway

between

Cal i

and

Popayan. This public space has been set

up

w ith

the

aim

of

ful

filling severa l objectives : to discuss a lt ernati

ve proposals

to Plan

Col omb ia (th e Uni ted St

ates'

drug

era

dicat ion assistance p

ro

gram), to

exchange a lternative

ex

p

er

iences,

and

to bu ild o n the relationships

of

solidari ty with the international

com

m uni ty. It seeks to ga ther those

groups of civ il society n

ot

wishing

to

place themselves wi

thin

the bipo

lar schemes set by t

he

government

an

d the guerrilla

gro

up, FAR C. T he

indigeno us

popu

lation d id not trust the d ia l

og

ue process between the

two pa rties; no r did they feel represe

nt

ed by eith

er

side. They were seek

ing a new rela ti

ons

hip between the ind igen

ous

groups, the other ac to rs,

and the govern ment,

em p

has izing the necessity of civ

il

opti ons fo r so lv

ing social

co

nflicts.

Su rro un ded and t

hr

ea tened on several occasions by th e FARC

and

th e

parami li tary, the indigen o us

populatio

n has ma naged to mainta in th eir

territory of

coex

istence in P

ie

n

dam6.

Whi le the governm

en

t

and

th e

guerrilla groups have not paid mu ch

attentio

n to th is initiat ive, it has

ge nerated

substa

nt

ial interest

at th

e in ternational level. Even

th

e presi

dent of the Ita lia n Pa r lia men t pa rticipa ted in one of th e meetings in 2000

(CRIC 1996, 1999; ON IC 1996b; Ra thge ber 2000,

20

01a,

20

01 d ).

However , there are l

im

its for indi

geno

us

actors

trying to ne u

tra

lize

negative forces and in fl uence inst i

tutio

nal changes. Since the mid- 1990s,

they have not been ab le to prevent the intens ifica tion of the con flict or the

111ilitar i

za t

ion wi thin the borders

of

ind igenous t

er

ritories.

Th

ose respon

-.

ihle fo r t he massacre in the Ni lo hac iend a in 199 1 (in the m unicipa lity

of

Ca l

oto, Ca

u

ca

regi

on), in

which 20 i

ndigenous

Nasa

peo

ple

we

re kill

ed,

hnve not been punished. However, the

CRIC's

invest iga ti

ons

have

lt

·vea led that the responsibility lies with mem bers

of

the national police

,1nd drug-dealers. Th e Inter-American Human Rights Co

mm

ission recom

lllt·nded that the

Colomb

ian governm

ent pa

ss a decree allow ing the

111ll1gcnous peo ple to acqu ire the lands the y have claimed fo r more than

decad

e, the

confli

ct over which

was

the underly

in

g

reason

for the

'' '

·' ':H.:re.

The

government still refuses to issue t he decree (ON IC 1

996

b,

I J IJ < Ic; R

thgeber 2001a, 2001 b, 200

1d

).

Mtli'

L

i

111 pona

ntly, the government ha s not imp leme n

ted

the laws

or

tin 1 T nrct·,sa ry to put the con sti tu tion

:1

l p rov isions in practice. T he

•

' ' '' ' ' ' nl l.1nd hy whitt· -.t·t

tl

r r

..

,

l.1

nd lord-., .111d dru g tr:1ffickcrs c

on

tinue


7/14

heodorRathgeber

in sp ite of the

Constitution.

Such

bas

ic needs as

health, ed

u

cation, food,

and

h

ousing are

n

ot

met. In the

areas of

oi l

explorat

i

on

-

above

all

in

Ar a

u

ca,

Boyaca, No rth

Santander,

and Put

umayo

departments- the right

to consul

tat

i

on

and parti

cipatio

n is

li

mited to

me

re at tendance to a

pro

forma

public event.

According to the indigenou

s

organizations,

they

are

dea ling with a new form of colonization. Th ose who

oppose

the indis

cr iminate

exploitation

of

gold,

coal, wood , or medicina l

plants are

acc used

of

belonging

to the guerr

illas,

wh

i

ch

in

so

me

areas

is

equivalent

to

a

deat

h sentence. Cul t

ural

aggression is

practiced da

i

ly

by a variety

of

state institutions,

as well

as

by the

churc

h, missi

ons,

settlers, landlords,

dr

ug-t raffickers,

the pa ramil

it

ary, and the

guerrillas.

If we

co

mp

are

the c urre

nt

s itua ti

on to

that of the 1

970s,

the impact of

the

i

ndigenous

movement

on

soc i

o-polit

ica l rea lity in

Colo

mbia is

r

ema

rkable. T hey have successfu lly st rengthened the processes of democ

rat i

zation, exte

nded cit izen pa r

ticipation,

a nd renounced violence as a

meth

od of co

nfli

ct

resolution. They

hav

e

mana

ged

to

tra nslate

the

state s

rules into inst ruments that they

are

now using to meet the needs o f

their

communi

ties,

protec

t t

heir terr

itories, prom ote imp

ro

ve

ments

in

their

li

vi

ng

co

nd i

tio

ns,

and experime

nt w i

th new

forms of soc ia l

li

nks. T he

indigenous movement has emerged as one of the l

oudest crit

ics of the

Co

l

ombian

s

tate

, even th

ough

they defend the

ex

istence

of

the con

st

itu

tion

as

a

core sta

n

da

rd

an

d

as an

i

ndispensab

le

condi

t

ion for the

development of a different

culture. They

have come

forward

as a

majo

r

force pr

omot

i

ng

the

open

ing of political spheres, in

addition to

articu

lating

their

own

model of development

(Ra thgeber

199

4;

Stroebel

e-Gregor

1994 ).

Shaping the Future from an Indigenous Perspective:

Three Case Studies

Global

ization

proce

sses impl y

an

acceleration

of th

e

fl

ow

of capi

t

al.

In

the process, the activities

of

extractive

indu

str ies have the effect of

spre

ading

insecurity,

threatening the cu ltural

an d

phy

sical

su

rvival

of

indig

enou

s peoples (

Ha

r

dt

and

Negr

i

2000

). In

th

e

previo

us sections of

this chapter, we have considered

broad

processes of

change

at the nat iona l

level, paying attenti

on to

the ways in

which the ind

i

genous movement

ha s

been

adapt

ing

and

trying

to

influence

po l

itics.

In the

foll

ow

in

g sections

we review three exa m ples of local and regiona l st rugg les focused on the

defense, recovery, and

developme

nt

of

i

ndig

enous ide

nt

i

ti

es a nd ten·iro

ries.

l i


The U wa: Defending an Ancestral Territory

T he ap proxi mately 5,000 members of the U wa people have

traditionally

lived in

th

e

footh

ills of the Eastern m

ou

ntain

range

and

th

e Sierra Nevada

del Cocuy. In

the depa

r

tmen

t

of

Boyaca,

the U wa sha

re

the territory with

peasant

fam

ilies. Th ey ma intain a land m

anage

ment strategy

on

their

territory that distributes land

in certain areas,

according to

the

agricul

tu

ral

calenda

r.

This

strategy, which provides

basic

food

security,

has

already been n

egat

ive

ly

affected by

th

e loss

of

land

and

dissoci

at

i

on wit

hin

the

territory. The Cobaria

comm

unity lac ks access to l

and

in

th

e lower

regi

ons,

wh

ich mea ns t

hat the

y go

hun

gry

du

ring certain times

of

the year.

Plans for oil

extraction

in their territory i

mp

ly

an

additi

onal

threat to the

food security and

cu

l

tura

l integrity

of

the U wa

peop

le.

The

oi l compan y

Oxy,

Occidental of Col om bia , planned to car ry out explorati

on

act ivities

in

the

so-called B

loque

Sa

mor

e, on

whic

h the U wa ances

tral terr

i

tory

lies.

The Gaviria

govern

m

ent

sign

ed

a contract

with Oxy

and Ecopetrol (the

Co lombian state oil company) a llowing both co

mp

anies to

explore

the

en tir

e are a of Bloque

Samo

re fo r

28

years. T he

Samper

government

(1 994-8)

decided

to

license

the Oxy project

(in

199

5)

without pr

ior

consult

ation

with the indigenous

com

munities.

At the beginning

of the 1990s, the government licensed

areas

su

rrounding

th

e

Cobarla resguardo, Aguablanca

i

nd

i

geno

us reserve,

the

Cu

rip

ao resguardo

and an :Hea

not

yet appointed as

resguardo.

Resguardos are

collectively

owned lands

that, since colon ial ti

mes

,

have

had th

e

status

of

in

di

genous

terri

toria I

reservations.

Si

nce 1

994,

the

U wa

had

been dema

nding the

expans

i

on

and unificati

on

of their

resguardo

from INCORA, the

Na t

i

ona

l Inst itute fo r Agra rian

Refor

m. The inspec

tion and cartographic stud ies of the

ter

rit

ory

had already been carried out,

but INC O

RA was

undecided on wh

ether to

gran t the changes because of

the

oil

i

nt

erests.

The case

of the

Nu

k

ak territory

was al

so

i

ns

tructive.

The

of their terr ito ry had been reduced at the time of its establishment,

the northwest

ern

part bei

ng

tak

en away

from the m. As a semi

-no

madic

re o

ple

of

roving f

ar

mers in the Am

azon

jungle, this area

was

indi

spens

.1ble for thei r survival. It

was

later discovered that

on

this particu lar land

there were potential oilfields.

Other indigenous

peoples in

Co

l

om b

ia

have

also experienced

the cata

t rophic

impact

of oil exploration and exp loitat i

on on their culture

and

tnrito ri

es, includi

ng

the

Yar ig

ui and Aripi peoples

from

Magd

alena, the

Bnri from

Ca tatumbo, the

Kofan

from Putumayo and

the Hitni.i, Hitani.i,

lktoye, a

nd

J iwi

from

Arauca . All these gro

ups

live

in the

vicini

ty

of the

l l'wn, who were

also awa

re of the negative

expe r

iences of

ind

i

genou

s

in Ecuador and

Pe

ru th rough reports from the environ

lll

l

ll :l

l o rg:1ni

za t

ion Oil W:1tch. Th e U'wa p

eop

le decided to defend their

.liiU

tr;ll

territor

y 11 ,dl

ON I(

1997a, 1997h, 1

999

b; Rathgeber

1 1 1 7 .


8/14

Theodor Rathgeber

Accord ing to the

Co

lombian constitution,

the

resguardos a

nd

the

other

communal lands of eth nic groups are collective property of the na tive

com

m unities

an

d, as su

ch,

they can n

ot

be sold or confiscated by the

govern ment .

Mo

reover, the agrarian refo

rm

reg ula tion 1

60

1993 estab

lished

that

those land sites determined as co mmun al land are also

regul

ated .

The

U wa succeeded in

ensuring that the

area

for

oil

exp

lo

ration be dealt with according to the prov isions established by Conven tion

169 of the Int

ernation

al Labor

Organizatio

n . Th is meant that the p

ro

ject

co

uld

not

have been

carried

out

w ith

out

prior co

nsul

ta t

i

on

with the

community and their expressed

approva

l. It re

quir

ed th em to agree on

th

e

in

demnit

y,

reparations,

and benefits the co mmunities should receive as

com pensation for their r ights of usufruct. In

ad

dition, it req uired specific

stu dies regarding the impac t o n the social, econom ic, and cu ltural inte

grat i

on

of t he comm unities.

Th e environmental license issued in

1995

by the Mi nist ry for

the

Environment

for

the ex plor

at

ion in the Bloque Samore condit ioned Oxy s

ac tivit ies to a previous pr ocess of

cons

ultation and ag reement with the

indigenous population in the region . However, this

cond

i

ti o

n sho

ul

d have

been dec id ed before the au thor ization of the seismic activi ti es was issued,

th us verifying the poss ibilities

of

negative impacts on the indigenous

c

ommunit

y.

Oxy carr

i

ed

out the

first seismic

act

ivities

on part of

the

U wa

territory wi thout complying with these ob ligations, arguing that no explo

ration within

the

resguardo

was to

take place,

and

th at they did

not

have

the

cartography

of

the

U

wa

territory. The compan y went on to suggest

that the gue rril las were acti ng on the Bl

oq

ue Samore region and influ

encing

th

e indigen

ous populati

on.

Of

course FARC was active in the area

and favored o

il

exploration, becaus e they

ho

ped to ga in an additional

source

of

fun

ds. Three foreign

ac

t ivi sts who

wo

rked for the U wa cause

were k ill ed in 1999 as a result . Th e U

wa co

mm unit ies denou nced th is

lack of

co

mpliance by Oxy wi th various au thorities. T hey presented a

tutela

before

the court and

agreed with the Foreign Affai rs M inister -

whose

duty

is to ensure compliance of the rights

of

ind igenous p

eop

les -

on the establishment of a com mission to rev iew complaints. They also

sought

to capture

the n

at

i

onal

and internation a l pu

bl

ic s

at

te

ntion

in

order

to stop Oxy s act ivit ies. Var ious non -i ndigenous social sectors,

including some of the blu e-collar

workers

from Oxy and She

ll

, backed th e

U

wa

cause.

The Co mmi ssion verified seismic ac tivi tie s in

the

U wa territory, but

sanctions against Oxy never materialized. Besides, the gove rnment

insisted that the

U wa

people did not have a unified

po

sition an d

that

a

considerable proportion

of

them were in favor

of

o

il

exploration. The

U wa communities responded that they were a

ll

agninst the project ,

declaring this in multiple opportun it ies thro ugh th('

ctdll'lt os

:

111d

t hci r

tradit iona l au thorities. Th ey underlined t lw III'I HIIt .llll c· nf

u l t i n

thtse rtprt


9/14

Theodor

ath

geber

hecta res w i

th i

n t he Paramillo na tural park in th e northwest of Colombia.

The Embera-Katfo belo ng

to

the Embera people

co

nsisting

of

around

57 ,40 0 mem bers distributed in the departments of Choco, Antioq uia, an d

Co r

do ba. In the

latter,

the Em bera-Kat fo live s ide

by

side wi

th

Afro

Co

lom bian communities, descendants

of th

e C

imarron

slaves who in

the

eighteen th century sought refuge in these ra infores ts. Currently, the

Emb

era-

Katfo

comprise

19

communities situated

in the hydrographical

basins of the rivers Simi, Esm

era

ld

a,

Verde,

and

Cruz Grande.

The

reg i

on

is a

tropica

l jungle, well

known for

its ric

hn

ess in biodiver

s ity d ue,

in

large

exten

t,

to

the way the E

mb

era-K

at fo

have l

iv

ed a

nd

manag

ed the rai

nfor

est, which

demands

high mobi lity in t imes of scarcity.

T hey li ve scattered alo ng the rivers and st rea ms, in family gro ups that

exploit the environmental d iversity availa

bl

9 around the ir settl eme

nt

s.

Th ey have developed their own sophisticated syste rn s of production,

'

nco rporat in g fruit tree seeds in to the vegetable ga rdens dist ri

buted

a rou nd the communities. T hey

comb

ine horticulture with frui t collection,

hun ting, and fishing depend ing on th e season. This type of economy

sustains the fa mily and provides food sec urity, but

does

n

ot

leave much

excess p rod uction for trade. In genera l, the Embera do not have a central

ized system or a hierarchical politica l st ruct

ur

e. Th e fam

il

y nucleus is

autonomous

in

terms of

decision-making,

alt

h

ough

advice provided by

the

other

famili es is taken into

account

(Mueller- Piantenberg 1999;

Rathgeber 1

999)

.

The

1

960s

saw the beginning

of

a continuing process

of

co lonizat ion

or set tleme nt on Embera-Katfo's land. T hese sett le rs d id not k

now

a bout

rainforest management. At first they began wi th small-scale wood

ha r

vesting, which did

no

t cause serious da

mag

e

to the

ra inforest.

Devastation rea lly comm e

nc

ed with the use of the power saw.

t

is esti

mated that in the eight ies ar

ou

nd 95,000 hecta res of

primary

for est we re

razed . A pa rt of the Embera-Ka t

fo popu

lation also began

to cut

down the

forest in o rd er to get income to bu y tools, mot

or

boa ts, flashlig hts, and

radios. T he traditiona l indigeno us sectors raised th e ala rm to prevent the

des truction of their

terr

i

to

ry.

At

th

e beginning

of

the

nineties th ese

tradit

i

onal

sectors began a process

to elaborate an ethno-developme nt plan that wou ld

recupe

rate

pa r

t

of

the

trad

iti

onal

economy

and

re vital ize domestic relations between the

com

munities. However, the plan failed due to differences of opinion

regardi

ng

the use

of

the ecosystem. Balancing the different interests

wa

s

the most important part

of

the plan because it h

ad

to ta ke all proposals

into cons iderati

on

and st ill be

sustainab

le. To thi s end, th e plan included

the cre

at

ion

of

a pol itical body

whose

funct ion

was

to mediate between

differen t interests according to its own previous ly

ag

reed-upon reg uln

tions, and to establish a mechanism fo r co mpensati

on

vis a tJis diffcr

t

l

ll

forms

of

au th

or

ity

and

soc ia l relations. T his necessa ry bcC:lll't

ex ist ing governm ent institu t io ns h

ad

a ll crn lihility.

I

Indigenous Struggles

in

Colombia

Th e plan

sough

t to increase food

secur

ity, esta blish new fo rms of subsis

tence, i

mp

rove exist ing medical care, and complete the

transport

inf rastructure. On t

he

basis of their mode l

of

subsistence they wanted to

broade

n their econo mic activities, gradua

ll

y developing an

economic

mode

l

that wou

ld m eet the needs o f a growing popu lation and generated

income.

New

and adapted tech nologies were introduced which were to

increase yields of tra ditiona l

production.

The plan also covered

manage

ment

of

the Sinu

ri

verbed to be used as

drink

ing water reservo ir, fina n

ced

by funds fro m

the wa

ter

compan

ies

that

supply

approximately

one

million

customers

(R

at

hgeber 1999).

T he entire process cam e to a hal t with rhe construction of the hyd ro

electric plant Urra I Back in the 1950s, the politica l elite from the

Cordoba

depa rtme

nt

proposed the

constr

uct ion

of

a hydroe lectric

plant

(Urd I and II) in

the

Sinu River. For th is pu rpose,

at

the beginning of the

1980s, feas ibility studies were carried out and funding sour ces sought.

Th

e Urra l project incl uded the floodi ng

of

7,400 hectares, mai nly

land

from the Paramillo natura l park

that

had been affected by the settlements.

The first

part

of th e d

am

was to include 100 hectares of Embera-Katlo

te rritory, and the second phase, Urd

II

, pl

an

ned the fl

ooding of 70,000

hectares, affecting 475 Embera-Katlo families. In additi

on, the

project

represented a

threat to approximat

ely I

00,000

people (3

0,000

families)

who

lived on

the

areas below

the

da m, fishi ng

and

farmi ng

for

their liveli

hood. A ll in all, it was esti mated that about o ne m illi on peo ple wou ld be

affec

te

d by the

pro

jec t.

The

electric p lant in Urra 1 was to

pr

od uce

340

megawatts,

or

2 percent

of th e country 's energy producti

on

. T he immed ia te beneficiaries of the

pro ject were pl

anni

ng commercia l

ag ri

culture and

cat

tle-breeding

enter

prises on 262,000 hectares, constructing an ir riga tion system th

at would

turn 150,000 hecta res into pr

oducti

ve land. Among t he h

oped-for

bene

(its were

the

cr

eat

ion of

3,500

job s

and

the co llection of i

nc

ome by the

mu nicipa lities from the sale of energy. However, the cost-benefit studies

1

lso revealed tha t the pr o ject was not economica lly viable in the

long term,

tha t it would cause envi ro nmental damage to the rainforest,

and would

have a negative

impact on

the

p

op

ul

atio

n living

along

the riverside,

all

1 n sons w hy the pr oject was rejected in the first place.

In

light of the power cuts

that

the

country's

capital , Bogota, experienced

during 1992, when the city suffered hours-long cuts on a dai ly basis, the

gove rnment

dec

i

ded to

consolidate the flow

of

energy

with construction

ol

addit

ional electric plants like Urra

I. Works

were started in 1

993

by a

1-,wc

dish company which used exclusively Canad ian and Swedish funds,

nee

th e

Wo

rld Bank

had

decided

to

ab

ando

n the project given its nega

ll

vt· impacts. A Russian

company

su pp lied the equ ipment to generate

the

t•n

ngy

needed

du

r in g co nstru crion. Th e

dam

was completed in

1998

(1\

luvlln Ph1ntcnhl' rg 11

1

>>; C::th

il dm

Mayores Em bera-Katfo 1999a ).

I ht• 111h .lh i

t 11

1

1'

ol ti ll II 'J' ,BIIIIIt • upu ·d hy l Jn . , in

dudin

g the Em hera


10/14

Theodor Rath

geber

Katfo

po

pulation and other fis

hing and

peasant fam ilies, did not have

any

idea

of th

e impact

th

at

th

e plant w

ou

ld ha ve on them . Than ks

to

the help

of two experts from the

Cord

o ba and

Me

dellin University - both of

wh o

m

were

later

killed-

the population began to realize tha t their food sec

urit

y

was being

threatened

. Their staple

foo d, th

e local

fi

sh va

ri

ety B

oc

achi

co

t eir ma in source of pro tein- disappeare d within a pe riod of five years.

In the face such a

treme

nd ous negative impac t, the Embera-Katfo and the

fishing fam ilies deci

ded to

o

ppo

se

th

e sec

ond

phase of the hy

dr o

electric

. (

proJect.

In 1995,

mo

re than

600

ind ige

nou

s

peo

ple - men, wo men, children

1

an d the elde

rly

e

mbarked

in

wooden raft

s on the SinC River

to

say

th

eir

far

ewell to the r iver. Th is first mobiliza tion , known as the Do Wa bura,

at tracted

in

ternationa l and national p

ub

lic atten

ti o

n a

nd

forced the Urra

S.A. c

om pany into

negotiati

ons

with

th

e E

mb

era-Katfo.

Durin

g the f

irst

.

meeting, the company committed itse lf to con sult them regarding

compensation

am o

unts for da mages and to implement the recommenda

tio

ns

of

envi

ronment

al imp act stud ies .

However,

30 percent

of th

e

construction work had a lready taken place, and

th

e ind igenous popula

t i

on was st

ill not clear

about

the damages.

The contract ing com pany Urra S.A. did n

ot

fulfill its various obliga

tions. The Embera

-Ka

tfo decided

to

r

esor

t to the

tu t

e

la

legal suit to

s

afeg

u

ar

d

th

eir

consul

t

atio

n a

nd

mitigation rights . ln

1998,

when the

dam

was

co

nclu

ded

but not ye t f

il

led, the Constitutional Co urt, as f

ina

l

auth or ity, granted the tutela

to

the Embera-Katfo, ruli

ng

a temporary halt

of th

e

wo

rk s. Th e

court

pai n

staki

ngly

exp

la ined the shor t

co

mings of t he

proceedings and order

ed th

e Mi nistry for the Environ men responsible

for

th

e issu ing of licenses- a

nd

the Urra S.A.

com

pany

to compl

y w ith al l

the s

tud

ies, consul t

ations, co

nsensus processes,

and

mit igations before

work could be

co

ntinued. T he Court set a deadline of six months for

set tleme

nt

discussions

to

ta ke place , and emp has ized the fact that the

M inist ry and th e compa ny sho uld respect the cult

ur

al unity of the commu

nities, refra ining from attempt ing to foster divisions

when

ca rrying out

co

nversat ions with

th

e Embera-Katfo. The se

nt

ence

was

ra ther can

ny

because, in fac t,

th

ere

was

an at

temp

t

to

divide

th

e E

mb

era-Katfo in

ord

er

to achieve an agreement for financia l r

epar

at ions i

nstead

of land

co

mpen

sation. Desp ite

th

e

enco

uragem

ent of th

is division, the M inistry was

forced into compen

sa

ting the Embera-Kati o w ith land as well , as a result

of international p rotest and mob

il

izations

(CCC

1998; Ca bildos Mayores

Embera-Katfo 1

999a;

M ueller-P

lan

tenberg 1999;

Rathgebe

r 2001b).

During this tim e, the p

ara

military kill

ed

a traditional leader of thl

Embera-Katio, a very importan t figure

of

the in

di

genous resistance, a nd

six other leaders received

death

threats. Three

co

nsul

tant

s of t lw

Embe

ra-

Katfo

who worked with ON IC were decla red : - ~ r y

) . 1 , l ' t ~ >

and had to take refuge

abr

oad. Before this

l Vl

nt , thr ee

p(;()pk

who Wt

ll

commiu e

cl to

the indigenous l ' l ' S i ~ t , l

lud

.llq ·:

Hi

y

h t'l' ll

llll ld

t•JI'd ,


From 1999 to 2001, other indigenous leaders who had playe d a k

ey

ro le

in the negotia

tio

ns

with

the M inistry

and

the co m

pany

d ied or

di

sap

peared. In

ad

dition,

th

e A

lto

Sint1

area

had been

turned

into an

ep

icen

te

r

of w

ar

, brought ab out by disputes over ter ritorial cont rol b

etween

the

guerrillas and

th

e pa

ramilitary

, involving the ind igenous people and

c

aus

i

ng

man y

deat

hs.

At

t he begin

nin

g of the

negotiations

at the end of 1998, the Emb

era

Katfo prese

nt

ed an

ethn

o-deve l

opme

nt plan

th

ey ca

lled

the plan de vida

(pl

an

for life). They

proposed

several

prog

rams

aime

d

at

long-t

erm

foo d

securi

ty

for their people . The

pr

ocess of

imp

lementation of the

court

ve rdict took more

tha

n six mo

nth

s

an

d was

accom

panied by several

demonstrations, includ ing a long march from the Sinu River to Bogota

(800

km) and

the occupation of the q

uarters

of the Mi nistry for

th

e

Env

iron

ment.

At th

e

sa

me t ime

th

e Em

be

ra-Katfo

exten

d

ed th

eir s u

ppor

t

links, getting an international body to monito r the

conversations

.

At

the

inte

rnat

ional level, the claims over delays an d tri

cks

played by

th

e

M

in

is

tr

y for the Environment forced the mi

nister to trav

el to

Europe

twice

to ex

plain ma tt ers. The Vice-President and the M i

nister

of Foreign Affa irs

were sh

arp

ly cr iticized when they spoke in pub

li

c on their Eu

rop

ean

to

urs,

the need for

comp

li

ance

with

the

decision

made

by the

Const

itu tiona l Court. The atti tude

of

state

of f

icials suggested th

at

the

se

ntence

wo

uld n

ot

be respected (Cabildos

Mayor

es E

mb

era -Katfo

199

9b, 1999c; ONlC 1998, l999b, 1999c, 1999d; International R ivers

Network

1999)

.

The

conversations fina lly

conclu

d

ed,

and

th

e Embera-Katio

opted

for

J lan ]enen, which contained ma ny of the demands i

ncluded

in their

l thno-development plan. Th ey

had

invoked the ru le of law

to

ma ke sure

tha t the rights enshr ined

in

the

co

nsti tu ti

on were

fulfi

ll

ed.

Meanw

hile

the Embera-Katfo mobilized a

ll

civ il means in their effort to guarantee

the ir cul

tu r

al surviva l. In all these stages, i

nt

ernationa l so

li

da ri

ty

net

wo

rks

kept

su

pporti

ng

th

e

st

ruggle.

However,

this

saga

is not yet over

.tnd the future does not look prom isi ng. Alth ough the

Urra

S.A. may

we

ll

be handing

out

food and

other

esse

nt i

als such as medicine, the

Indige

no

us

ofte

n

remain

empt

y-

ha nded. Frequently, the

pa

ramilitary

t o p

th

em and take

aw

ay their goods upon

ret

urn from Ti

erra

Alta, the

pl.1ce appo

in ted for

di

st ributing goo ds. In s

pi

te of mu ltiple

comp

laints,

tht· sta te securi ty forces have n

ot

intervened yet (Rathgeber 2001b).

/ mace:

Searching for Economic Alternatives

l

la

· r>

ur:1

cc s ulp hur mine lies on the p iedmont of

th

e active vo lc

ano th

at

the s:1n1e nam e,

rathgeber indigenous struggles in colombia

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