Educators under fire – Violence against teachers in Colombia

Teachers have faced a long history of violence in Colombia. Guillermo Otero is one of 5 teachers murdered in the Caribbean region during 2024

Article written by Maria Carolina Beltran, Sarah Figueroa & Sara Ortega

The work of teachers is among the most important professions in society; they are responsible for educating thousands of children, adolescents, and adults in both academic and personal spheres. The Colombian Ministry of Education defines a teacher as those who teach in both urban and rural schools. In Colombia, teachers in rural areas face unique challenges that go beyond their academic role, especially when they work in regions affected by the country’s internal conflicts, where state presence is minimal or nonexistent, placing their lives at risk. Throughout history, educators in Colombia have been victims of paramilitary, guerrilla, and state violence. According to Valencia and Celis (2012), “The Colombian Federation of Educators (Fecode) is the trade union organization that records the highest number of homicides against its members and the highest number of violations of life, physical integrity, and freedom.” This situation occurs throughout the country, and teachers in cities are not exempt. According to Fecode statistics, the most dangerous departments for educators are Nariño, Cauca, Atlántico, Cesar, Huila, Bogotá D.C, Tolima, La Guajira, Caquetá, and Putumayo. Such a situation should provoke serious questions; Why are our teachers being killed? What is happening to teachers in Colombia? The answers to these questions are not simple nor all-encompassing. The reasons behind the murders of educators in Colombia are multiple. These individuals face risks due to the locations where they work, their union memberships, their roles as social leaders, and their political involvement. This text will explore these factors and look at some specific cases of violence against teachers in the Caribbean region. 

Firstly, many rural areas where teachers work are plagued by drug trafficking, mafias, criminal gangs, and other actors who pose a threat. Without significant state presence, these other actors often assume control. Many teachers also take on community leadership roles, fostering social cohesion and serving as a bridge between the state or local government and the local population, acting as representatives of the state, which may make them targets. Teachers’ activism and union participation often stem from their fight for the rights of their students and the communities where they live or work. Former president of the Colombian Federation of Educators (Fecode), Carlos Rivas, told El Tiempo in 2018, “It is a symptomatic fact that in Colombia, words kill. Teachers do not only give classes and create knowledge; they also build democracy. We don’t understand why we are being killed when all we do is support students and communities.” Carlos Medina, director of the Political Science Department at the Universidad Nacional, also affirmed that a culture of criminality has developed in Colombia against teachers who hold any prominence in a community. 

Continuing with this idea, rural teachers may also hold a political and social position; their work ranges from education to building peace and supporting democracy in these areas. Alexander Monroy, a professor at the Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia (UNAD), expressed that “teachers are leaders with the capacity to build a political agenda and generate citizen action within the community.” The significance of teachers in Colombian politics is undeniable and substantial; they participate in elections and represent a large percentage of Colombia’s public sector. The Nuevo Arco Iris Corporation (2012) commented that, for the 2005 parliamentary elections, the teaching sector elected five senators, three of whom were former Fecode presidents. Teachers’ political activity represents a threat to the interests of insurgent groups and on occasion to certain local elites, as it jeopardizes their hegemony and power.  

Colombian history is marked by a persistent climate of conflict, danger, and repression, especially for social movements, unions, and indigenous and Afro-descendant communities. According to the Latin American Campaign for the Right to Education (2020), Fecode, its leadership and the more than 350,000 teachers that are part of it, have been repeatedly attacked by extreme right-wing actors and political parties that represent the establishment. This hostile environment extends its threats and targeted killings to social leaders, former FARC members, human rights advocates, and other opponents of the political establishment. Fecode teachers get the short end of the stick since they tend to be stigmatized for their resistance to right-wing policies by being associated with elements of the extreme   far left. This association has been used to delegitimize their work with the associated stigmatization frequently having fatal consequences. This situation continues to generate international concern, and multiple human rights organizations have spoken out against the political violence affecting Colombia's educational sector, while many continue to hope and seek a solution. 

Amid the ongoing crisis of teacher murders in Colombia, trade unions in Britain and Ireland have expressed strong support for trade union rights in the country, voicing deep concern over the attacks on educators from the Federación Colombiana de Educadores (Fecode). These attacks have escalated since Fecode's teachers' endorsement of President Gustavo Petro during his 2022 election campaign, which was driven by the hope of improving conditions for public education workers and their students. In response, European federations have called for an end to the hostile campaign against teachers and the trade union and demanded protection for their legal right to defend democracy. Unions worldwide have reaffirmed their solidarity with Fecode and the broader Colombian trade union movement, emphasizing the need to safeguard union members and ensure fair working conditions for all. 

Unfortunately, teachers’ lives continue to be in danger. As of November 2024, several cases of violence against teachers have been reported in the Caribbean region, including the murders of unionized teachers like Eliecer Guevara in Valledupar, Luis Alfredo Leones in San Jacinto, Hader Escobar in Maicao, and Armando Rivero in Sampués. Although the motives behind these crimes may vary, their collective impact exposes the severe violence affecting the country and highlights the vulnerability of areas where the State’s presence is limited or absent. These murders not only pose a threat to those defending labor rights but also to communities that see these leaders as a voice of support and representation amid a context of neglect and conflict.  

One of these cases which highlights the complexity of the situation is the murder of Guillermo De Jesús Otero Martínez, a teacher in an ethno-education school (schools which teach students from a perspective aligned with the beliefs and practices of indigenous or other minority ethnic groups in Colombia) in Fundación, Magdalena. His murder, allegedly linked to extortion rackets run by illegal actors in the local context, was carried out on March 11th , 2024. Genaro Gutiérrez, president of Edumag (Magdalena Teachers’ Union), stressed that, after the terrible event, the teaching profession has been facing a severe security crisis. The lack of support and constant intimidation have instilled fear in teachers, who are apprehensive about attending schools. After meetings with Edumag’s board, authorities have been asked to provide assurances so that educators can perform their duties without fear, to which the General Attorney of the Nation has issued a warning to the Magdalena Governor’s Office and municipal authorities, underscoring the security risk faced by public school teachers. In its statement, the General Attorney of the Nation cited recent incidents, such as one on March 1st (2024) at Rosa Cortina Educational Institution in the municipality of Plato, where armed men entered the school and threatened the principal and teachers in front of students, alleging that the educators did not reside in the local community and provided inadequate services.  This incident indicates how Magdalena, like far too many other areas, is a targeted region where armed groups have sown fear. However, the lack of state intervention is evident, as there is not even an investigation into which groups are committing these acts. 

To address this issue of violence against teachers in rural areas, the Colombian government has implemented some protection mechanisms through the National Protection Unit (UNP), expanding its coverage to include social leaders and, in some cases, teachers at risk. However, this measure has been insufficient, as murders and threats against educators have not ceased. In rural areas, the situation is even more precarious due to the lack of communication tools and technological devices that would allow teachers to report threats in a timely manner, as well as the distance from government offices to their territories. Limited connectivity, scarce resources and insufficient transport infrastructure in these regions hinder the activation of protection mechanisms, leaving teachers even more vulnerable and unprotected against violence from armed groups and other conflict actors. This, again, reflects how little the government is doing to stop the increasing violence. 

The threats faced by educators across Colombia highlight the severity of the crisis the country is currently enduring, exposing a deep-rooted issue that the government has yet to adequately address. This lack of intervention has left educators, particularly in rural areas, trapped in a relentless cycle of danger due to their roles as community advocates and symbols of state presence in underserved regions. Teachers like Guillermo Otero, among many others, became targets precisely because of their commitment to their communities. These educators are not merely victims; their loss sends shockwaves through their students, their communities, and ultimately, the nation as a whole. It is crucial to raise awareness of this urgent situation, not only to protect the well-being of these educators but also to demand decisive government action to safeguard those who stand on the front lines of progress. The time has come for Colombia to prioritize the safety of its teachers, recognizing them not just as instructors, but as essential agents of change and pillars of resilience within their communities. Protecting educators like Guillermo Otero is not simply about saving individual lives; it is about preserving the social fabric and the future of the entire country. 

References 

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