The FARC, Land Reform, and the Future of Colombia’s Security

Oct 1, 2017 | Nicola Bilotta
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The historical ceasefire, signed in La Habana on June 23th 2016, was the first step to bring peace in Colombia after fifty-two years of conflict. In February 2017, the FARC and the Colombian government have begun a long and controversial process of national pacification. During the peace talks, land reform was the critical topic and remains the crucial challenge to ensure FARC’s demobilization.

Land reform has always been the main political flag of the FARC. Since the 1960s, when FARC’s rebellion began, the ownership structure of land has not evolved. Colombia still has one of the highest levels of unequal distribution of land. The peace agreement attempts to deal with the land issue and to transform rural Colombia. It tries to re-build the property structure of land to avoid the repetition of the existent socio-economic conditions which have facilitated the persistence of the conflict.