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The agrarian strike which has ignited across Colombia is rooted in the historic marginalization and repression of Indigenous, rural and Afro-Colombian communities and the state’s failure to fulfill promises made after earlier displays of popular mobilization. Much of the country is now at a standstill in what could be merely the first phase of the uprising, widely known as the Minga.
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It began Monday. By Tuesday several of Colombia’s highways were blocked, restricting access to zones across the country. In some places it was cut off completely. This is not the first time Colombia has mobilized to demand the government meet its social and political obligations, but it is the largest Minga to date. And nobody knows when it will end.
The department of Cauca is home to a large rural population and a history of radicalism. It is also one of the most ethnically diverse regions in Colombia. These factors situate Cauca at the vanguard of the movement. Protesters occupy the Pan-American highway linking the department capital of Popayan with the larger city of Cali in neighboring Valle, rendering Cauca inaccessible by road. The last time this happened, in 2013, it was two weeks before it reopened.
Indigenous communities from across Cauca have gathered in the traditional meeting point for collective dialogue and decision-making, La Maria, a few kilometers from the town of Piendamo. To enter La Maria involves crossing two lines of the Indigenous Guard.
Each of the more than one hundred communities present at La Maria is escorted by its own guard, who are distinguished by their bamboo staffs adorned with colorful fabrics. In autonomous zones beyond state control, the guards are the peacekeepers. They also represent the frontline of defense against the authorities.
Admission to La Maria is only granted to recognized allies of the movement. One such group is the Patriotic March, a left-wing political organization formed in 2012 which has become a powerful force in grassroots mobilization. In 2012, 80,000 people marched through Bogota in support of the movement (hence the name). Its political strength is emphasized by the fact that over 100 of its members have been murdered by the military or right-wing paramilitaries.
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A process of inclusion is required, says Oscar Salazar, a lead coordinator for the Patriotic March, "The government must address rural and Afro committees in Cauca. There needs to be legalization of campesino territories and recognition of their rights. These are related to the politics of mining and energy."
In Cauca, the Minga has been called by a collective body of organizations known as the Agrarian Summit, made up of the Patriotic March, the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca, the People’s Congress, and smaller campesino and Afro-Colombian organizations.
The strike also acts as an umbrella of resistance under which other popular struggles are being taken up. In Popayan, workers at the Syndicate of Public Employees, university students and activists from the Patriotic March protested plans for privatization of public services by blocking central city streets.
Inside La Maria, women, men and children fill a large hall made of bamboo under a corrugated roof. Others spread across a grassy ledge overlooking the restricted highway. Many older people wear traditional hats and chew coca leaves around the central fireplace.
Much of the younger generation play with mobile phones and sport Cristiano Ronaldo haircuts. Indigenous authorities address the congregation from a stage which will host numerous government ministers in the coming days.
"For the recognition of the National Coordination of Indigenous Communities." Photo: Communications Commission, Patriotic March, Cauca
Spirits are high but there is trepidation. Clashes are occurring throughout the country, including at the blockade a few kilometers up the road. Tensions have been raised by the death of a young Embera man in an encounter with riot police, the much-reviled Mobile Anti-Disturbance Squadron.
On the eve of the Minga, 26-year-old Willington Quibarecama Nequirucama died after being struck by an armored vehicle and falling from a bridge in Valle. The following days brought multiple reports of police brutality, arbitrary arrests and forced disappearances. On the second day helicopters buzzes the congregation, a loudspeaker threatens anyone who blocks public highways with prison. The response on the ground is, mildly speaking, derogatory.
For those coordinating the movement, a unified front is critical to resisting state intimidation tactics. "Why is it important for all our people to come together?," asks Jose Ildo Pete, Senior Counselor for the CRIC.
"We are not fighting for individual demands, but a collective and communal one. The principal theme of this Minga is the defense of territory, which is fundamental to the survival of Indigenous people and their culture and spirituality."
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The defense of territory is a historical commitment that is today gravely threatened by conflict and resource extraction. In Cauca—and across Colombia—this has displaced villages and devastated the environment, with the local municipalities of Suarez, Santander de Quilichao and Buenos Aires among those affected by illegal gold mining.
Polluted lands and rivers slowly kill the people who depend upon them for survival, while criminal negligence in the mines has caused dozens of deaths in recent years.
The issue of mining is prominent on the list of demands, alongside health, education, human rights, political autonomy and inclusion in the peace process.
Underlying the dispute is Decree 982, drafted in 1999, in which the Colombian state recognized the "social, cultural and economic emergence declared by the Indigenous authorities and peoples of Cauca."
Back then, the Interior Minister attended La Maria to sign a multitude of agreements with the CRIC which constitutionalized Indigenous rights over land, environment, human rights, security and economy. Few have been adhered to.
Cauca has been further blighted by the civil war. In 2012 Nasa communities mobilized against the militarization of their homeland to demand that both insurgency and state submit to Indigenous authority before encroaching on designated territories. Under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, these communities hold political autonomy over their lands, making any unsolicited incursion a violation of their rights.
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While the Santos administration and the FARC negotiate to end the conflict, many social groups affected by violence are calling for inclusion. The state is not interested in constructing a genuine post-conflict scenario, says one Indigenous guardsman, "I think peace is going to be very difficult because some will submit to it and others won’t. The government doesn’t support peace and keeps killing Indigenous members, women."
Any hope for a quick and relatively peaceful conclusion to the Minga was dispelled by the killings of two Indigenous guards on Thursday. Gersain Ceron and Marco Diaz Ulcue were shot by security forces at the Cauca blockade.
Despite the deaths, the CRIC continued to call for a peaceful resolution and demanded "the national government withdraw public forces from the site of confrontation and continue with the dialogues to guarantee the completion of accords with the Indigenous peoples of Cauca and on a national level."
Other sources told teleSUR that more militant factions were seeking to intensify the insurrection in the wake of the killings.
Colombia’s government is failing its people. To revert this, it must unreservedly instigate processes guaranteeing the security of all citizens, not only urbanized populations of European descent.
It must prioritize the wellbeing of communities and their environments over the profits of multinational corporations. It must submit to established zones of political autonomy which predate the existence of the state. And it must construct an intercultural framework for health and education which puts all Colombians on an equal footing while respecting diverse traditions and customs.
On Thursday evening the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia released a statement criticizing the "repression of the Santos government" and vowing the Minga "will take place until the National Government formally addresses our demands efficiently and satisfactorily through purposeful and political dialogue which guarantees our rights."
For now, the struggle continues.
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