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Sucre is a department heavily associated with the Parapolitica scandal
Sucre is one of the eight departments on the Caribbean coast, its capital being the city of Sincelejo. This department is located in the north of the country, in the Caribbean region, bordering on the north with the Caribbean Sea (Atlantic Ocean), on the east with the department of Bolivar and the west with the department of Cordoba. Its main economic activity is ranching and social services. The department faces important issues such as poverty, forced displacement (around 30.300 families having been affected), drug trafficking and the presence of illegal groups such as Clan del Golfo, which competes for the control of drug trafficking routes into the Caribbean Sea. The significance of the region is due to the fact it is a strategic corridor; there are also strong paramilitary groups in the region, a significant lack of state control and a livestock tradition: factors which allowed the phenomenon of “Parapolitica” in the department. The purpose of this article is to explain what has been the impact of the “Parapolitica” scandal in the department of Sucre. The “Parapolitica” is the name given to a political scandal which brought to light the link between Colombian politicians and the paramilitary groups in a symbiotic relationship. In order to explore this topic, this article will look at the impact of the “Parapolitica” scandal in the political field. Afterwards, it will highlight the relationship between the scandal and violence in the department, and finally, it will look at the connection between the scandal, the murder of social leaders and forced displacement in Sucre.
Sucre is a region that has been strongly affected by corruption and the “Parapolitica” scandal. Since the 90’s, this has been one of the prominent political dynamics that affected the development and political scenario of this department. The term Parapolitica, as mentioned before, refers to the relation between the paramilitary groups and politicians hence it created a beneficial interaction for both parts, with the purpose of having political representation and a free path for paramilitaries to succeed in their illegal activities with the help of the politicians in different positions in the country. In exchange for support, politicians were backed up by paramilitary groups to accomplish political positions, in two ways, according to Avila (2019): firstly, eliminating the political competition; secondly, forcing people to vote for these candidates. The significant role of paramilitary groups in Colombia is recognized due to the variety of bonds established with politicians and state functionaries, which in the legal sphere helped them with resources, information, and contacts. In the region of Sucre, the “Parapolitica” had more relevance due to the influence that the paramilitaries groups had in political institutions. The National Center of Historical Memories (2018), establishes four main reasons: 1) The agrarian character of the department and the high dependency on political positions; 2) The political and agrarian elites invested in the creation of the paramilitary groups; 3) Paramilitary groups did not enter into confrontation with any competitors and; 4) Parapolitica articulated politicians with wider power in the territory. This phenomenon has contributed to a low rate of people’s participation in elections and also to the delegitimization of politicians. In recent years, in Sucre, a total of 35 politicians have been processed because of their relationship with paramilitary groups. The “Parapolitica” has also had impacts on the dynamics of violence in the region, because some of the para-politicians were involved in prominent crimes, such as Alvaro Garcia, who according to Verdad Abierta (2009), was convicted for being the intellectual author of the Macayepo massacre (A massacre perpetrated by the paramilitary group Heróes de los Montes de María to obtain the control over that area ).
The “Parapolitica” also has a close relationship to the dynamics of violence that the department has faced. The department and all the region has suffered a high level of violence due to the conflict and this has become common for its population. Nonetheless, we must highlight that these crimes are regularly overlooked and not resolved because those responsible have the power to delete their trace. In Sucre, according to RUV (Unique register of victims, which is a databa base of the government for the victim reparation) figures, 255,743 victims were registered in Sucre, of which 250,148 were a direct consequence of the armed conflict. This means that with a population of 826,780 inhabitants, victims represent 32% of the total residents in this department. These shocking figures are a reflection of different dynamics and actors that have developed in the context of the armed conflict. In effect, there have been different expressions of violence linked to various actors such as the PRT (Workers Revolutionary Party of Colombia), the CRS (Current of Socialist Renewal to the Constitution), the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), the AUC (United Self-Defences of Colombia), the para-politicians and the Bacrim. Even though all the cases of violence in Sucre are not related to the “Parapolitica”, the rates of violence in the region increased dramatically with the implementation of indiscriminate violence by self-defense and the paramilitary groups actions. Another point is that in the department, a sizable amount of violent cases have happened, among those the most famous case was called “Los Montes de Maria” massacre, after the place where it happened. This case happened between the 16 and 17 of February of 2000, and during these days the paramilitaries murdered 20 farmers. Also, this violent event was one of the most important in the history of Sucre and it was accomplished by different paramilitary groups. With the previous information, it is possible to notice how this department is affected by the “Parapolitica” in terms of violence. These groups are involved in many cases of violence in the region because of the importance of some strategic locations in the department and many people have to pay the price in many ways. These people have suffered too many issues generated by violence and massacres in the region, specifically in notorious instances like Montes de Maria which are evidence of the dynamics of violence and forced displacement which the people have faced.
Other side effects related to the “Parapolítica” in Sucre are land ownership, forced displacement and the threats and violence faced by social leaders in the department. As in many departments of Colombia, in Sucre, there has been a significant amount of control from several illegal groups over the land, which emerged because of the state’s weakness in terms of protection of citizens and their land rights. Freddy Aguilera, a member of the Sucre peace roundtable, explains that Sucre’s development took place around a large estate. These lands were given to the peasants to be cleaned and then returned; therefore, these lands would never belong to them. This situation created clientelism, or dependence on certain characters, and also led to the creation of the political patron culture that still persists today. In addition, as a result of the precarious state assistance, there was an exponential increase of illegal armed groups, which were fighting for dominance over certain strategic locations. This was because of the role that drug trafficking had as the principal financial activity of these type of groups. The control over the routes of drugs and the crop fields led to the seizure of many farmer’s lands, which increased the forced displacements, recruitment for armed groups, kidnappings, murders and other types of violence. The presence of these groups limited the creation of autonomous and independent citizenship, and citizens were unable to make decisions freely. Likewise, it limited the possibilities for the establishment of social organizations and leaders who couldn’t act with liberty since they were threatened, raped and killed. This can be reflected in the case of “Asociación Nacional de Usuarios Campesinos” (National Association of Farm Users). Their work in Sucre was one of the strongest in the country at a point when the local working classes came to exercise elements of power. They started demanding land for the people who worked it, and the landowners got terrified of this movement. However, between the 80’s and 90’s, those leaders started to be systematically persecuted and killed by paramilitaries and guerillas. Few leaders have survived to tell the story. Social leaders have emerged and have been working as defenders of human rights and as the voice of the citizens. Their principal labor is to contribute to the establishment of equal democracy and a guarantee of a decent life for the population under their assistance. For that reason, the efforts of the social leaders in this department have been guided to certain statements. Sowing Seeds of Peace Association recognizes the large footprint that the armed conflict has left in Sucre, and it is the reason why they have been promoting the different elements of citizen participation that our country offers us as a social state under the rule of law, organizing workshops, and formal meetings to discuss justice, democracy, human rights and violations of them. It is important to keep in mind that their principal function is teach how to be a leader for their people and their responsibility in relation to the community. However, similarly to their predecessors in the 80s and 90s, this work means they must constantly fear for their own safety.
In Conclusion, Sucre was highly affected by the paramilitary scandal of the country. This department has been mainly affected by corruption and the “Parapolitica” that has been present. In Sucre, the people who gain power and political positions are often not elected democratically, but through illegal means. The “Parapolitica” is also responsible for many of the violent events in the region, causing great massacres, murders, kidnappings, threats, and among many other effects on society. Even so, that is not the only fact about the amount of violence that these groups created by the “parapolitica”. It is also true that justice is very rarely obtained for these crimes. After all of the above, one of the greatest consequences of the acts of violence by the paramilitaries in the department is the forced displacement faced by people and the systematic murder of social leaders. This consequence has left many people homeless, affecting their quality of life. Therefore, more presence of the central government in the department is necessary so that people have certainty and do not live with fear. The central government has to bring this security (Military forces and Police) along with improvements to the infrastructure to assure a safe territory. Equally important, it is not only relevant to have security but also to bring justice to all the people who have suffered due to the conflict, particularly at the hands of the paramilitaries, many of whose former political allies are in office and protected by the same government. Thereupon it is necessary for having a better lifestyle for the population in the department, whose safety will set up a productive project to improve the economy. For this reason, it is also necessary to have a less corrupt government so that these groups can end this situation and begin a time of peace.
*Article written by Daniel Alvarez, Mercedes Ebrath & Arianna Morales
Information sourced from:
Ávila, A. (2019). [Ariel Ávila Explica]. (2019, March 6). El paramilitarismo en Colombia. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3l44__ZGuI
Asociación Sembrando Semillas de Paz. (2020). Retrieved 15 de abril de 2020, de Mesa Sucreña por la paz. Retrieved from: http://www.sembrandopaz.org/en/press-release-mesa-sucrena-por-la-paz/
Cadrazco Martelo, Manuel Andrés. (2019). Casas políticas, su configuración y roles en las elecciones 2014 ; 2015 y 2018: el caso de Sucre. Retrieved from: http://hdl.handle.net/10554/46542
Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica. (2018). Paramilitarismo: Balance de la contribución del CNMH al esclarecimiento histórico. Retrieved from: http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/micrositios/balances-jep/descargas/balance-paramilitarismo.pdf
Fernando, O. (2009). El paramilitarismo en Sucre, un proyecto armado por su clase política. Verdad Abierta. Retrieved from: https://verdadabierta.com/el-paramilitarismo-en-sucre-un-proyecto-armado-por-su-clase-politica/
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Verdad Abierta. (2010, September 2). El precio que pagó la Anuc por querer la tierra que trabajaban. Retrieved from: https://verdadabierta.com/el-precio-que-pago-la-anuc-por-querer-la-tierra-que-trabajaban
Unidad para la Atención y la Reparación Integral a las Víctimas (2020, January 01) Víctimas registradas del conflicto armado. Retrieved from: https://www.unidadvictimas.gov.co/es/ruv/37385
Verdad Abierta. (2010, September 02) ¿Cómo se fraguó la tragedia de los Montes de Maria?. Retrieved from: https://verdadabierta.com/icomo-se-fraguo-la-tragedia-de-los-montes-de-maria/
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