Some 4,000 people from all corners of Colombia participated in the National Agrarian Summit, Peasant, Ethnic and from the People that took place in 15-17 March 2014 in the capital Bogotá. The event consisted of two days of panels and discussions on the issues that most affect the Colombian population, especially those living in the countryside, and concluded on March 17 with a march of about 30 thousand people who went through to the central Bogotá Plaza Bolívar.
César Jerez, national coordinator of Anzorc (Rural Reserve Areas National Association) told El Reportero that, “The National Land Summit represents a process that comes after the August 2013 agricultural strikes. We met with the idea of bringing together peasants, indigenous sectors, people of African descent and people of Colombia, to build a single list of demands, we propose a single negotiating table with the government for the entire country, to support the peace process between the government and the Farc (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and finally set, if the government does not fulfill the agreements they make on the negotiating table, a route of peasant mobilization for the whole country.”
In August 2013, farmers from the better part of the country – backed by students, truck drivers, health workers and led by organizations such as Bureau of Dialogue and Agreement (MIA), the Congress of the People’s Patriotic March, the Coordinator Nacional Agraria (CNA) and the Process of Black Communities – paralyzed the country for three weeks, criticizing the high cost of inputs, the problems of access to land and infrastructural constraints that make it difficult to market their products. During the protests, farmers put a lot of emphasis on the necessity of repealing the resolution 970 of ICA (Colombian Agricultural Institute), which stipulates an obligation to plant certified inbred and transgenic seeds produced by transnational corporations. They also highlighted the problems associated with competition derived from free trade agreements (FTAs).
“The Colombian peasants suffer a structural neglect, exacerbated by the imposition of free trade agreements (FTAs). Actually, it´s not even about free trade agreements, since the signatory governments, such as the U.S., subsidize their agriculture while the Colombia does not. Therefore, the agricultural products imported from the United States can be sold at a cheaper price than Colombian products, a fact that is a disadvantage for local farmers, to the point that some agricultural sectors have gone bankrupt”, explains ASCAMCAT (Association Campesina del Catatumbo)’s Leonardo Rojas Diaz.
In fact, in May 2013 – one year after the entry into force of the FTA with the United States – according to the magazine Portfolio, Colombian imports grew by 50 per cent, mainly in food items. By analyzing the data on coffee exports, the country’s top product, the quality and pride of the Colombian population, we found that in the same period it went down by 31 per cent, while its imports reached 59.1 per cent.
The 2013 peasant mobilizations were harshly repressed and clashes between peasants and the Mobile squadron Riot (riot police) killed 19 people, while 600 were injured. “After the strike they installed negotiating tables with the government of Juan Manuel Santos,” Elisabeth Pavon, a spokeswoman for the farmers in the Catatumbo region in the MIA (Table of Dialogue and Agreement), tells El Reportero. “There is a national negotiating table that gathers delegates from each department and there are tables of local negotiations, one for each department. The results have been very partial, perhaps our table was the one that advanced the most.”
Apart from evidencing the difficulties in the negotiations and the Santos government’s non compliance, Colombian farmers criticize its proposed accession to the Agrarian Covenant, an agreement with Colombian agriculture unions that resulted of a consultation process that began on September 12, 2013. According to grassroots organizations, unions represent agribusiness and the oligarchy, whose interests are opposed to those of peasants, and roundly rejected the government´s proposal.
During the National Agricultural Summit, peasant, indigenous and Afro-descendant organizations from across the country announced that if the government remains deaf to their requests during the first week of May, the date of a new agrarian strike will be set. This is a very dangerous situation for Juan Manuel Santos, considering that he will seek re-election in the May 25 presidential elections.
by Orsetta Bellani
