The book traces the agrarian movement’s evolution from the 1970s through four distinctive phases or dynamics: self-management, reclamation, resistance and self-determination.
In the first, peasants fight predominantly for the land through colonization of public lands and occupation of land belonging to major property owners. In the second phase, peasants mobilize to claim public investment in agricultural life and production. The third phase of the peasant struggle is legal resistance and intra-territorial movements due to paramilitary violence. The last one corresponds to the current fight against extractivism and towards territorial autonomy.
The study is based principally on the histories of the National Peasant Association (ANUC), established in 1967, of the Southern Bolivar Agricultural–Mining Federation (FEDEAGROMISBOL), established in 1985, and of the National Agrarian Coordination (NAC), established in 1997. These organizations include peasants, who are small and medium owners whose properties are not fully legalized while they farm the land in precarious conditions.
Published in French.
