Abstract
This chapter analyzes how the situation in the Colombian peace territory of Samaniego evolved after the signing of the peace agreement between the Colombian government and FARC in 2016. Based on interviews and observation in situ, it illustrates some of the opportunities that arise for communities to engage in peacebuilding after the signing of peace nationally, as well as the significant challenges arising in a context of partial agreement, when some armed groups remain active and armed violence continues to affect certain communities. In this context, the community of Samaniego actively participated in several peacebuilding initiatives. Yet, it did not experience a complete transition from war to peace and continued to engage in civil resistance against enduring armed violence, building on its experience as a peace territory. The community also became rapidly disillusioned by the continuing abandonment of the central state and the lack of implementation of the peace accords.
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Notes
- 1.
According to the 2018 census, Samaniego had nearly 30,000 inhabitants and had an indicator of unsatisfied basic needs of 33% in rural areas and 26% in the urban area, in comparison with an average of 14% for the whole country (DANE 2018).
- 2.
Samaniego was part of two projects funded by the European Union and implemented by a local NGO, which supported the establishment and consolidation of peace territories in hundreds of municipalities in Colombia: the project “One hundred municipalities of peace” and its successor “Three hundred municipalities of peace” (Rojas 2007).
- 3.
The agency of the Mayor was key in the establishment of a peace territory in Samaniego, but structural factors were also critical. In particular, the municipality was characterized by a significant level of social organization, and the declaration of peace territory occurred at a time of strengthening of the peace movement in Colombia, which constituted a propitious context for the development of local peace initiatives. For more on the factors that led Samaniego to become a peace territory, see Mouly et al. (2016).
- 4.
See official data about the 2016 plebiscite on the website of the Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil at: https://elecciones.registraduria.gov.co/pre_plebis_2016/99PL/DPL23115ZZZZZZZZZZZZ_L1.htm (last visit: 26 June 2019).
- 5.
The 2016 peace agreement contemplated the implementation of PDETs in marginalized municipalities most affected by the armed conflict as a planning tool to generate structural transformations in these municipalities (Acuerdo final para la terminación del conflicto y la construcción de una paz estable y duradera 2016). The programs, which are due to take place in 170 municipalities over a ten-year period, include projects focused on infrastructure, housing, land titling, education, health, among others.
- 6.
Presidential directive No. 01, adopted on 2 February 2018, available at: https://dapre.presidencia.gov.co/normativa/normativa/DIRECTIVA%20PRESIDENCIAL%2001%20DE%202018.pdf (last visit: 18 July 2019). See also presidential decree No. 885 adopted in May 2017, available at: http://es.presidencia.gov.co/normativa/normativa/DECRETO%20885%20DEL%2026%20DE%20MAYO%20DE%202017.pdf (last visit: 18 July 2019).
- 7.
Former Colombian High Commissioner for Peace Sergio Jaramillo (2014) coined the term “territorial peace” to refer to the need to build peace in each territory according to its specifics.
- 8.
Information about the museum is available on the website of the National Centre of Historical Memory: http://centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/de/narino/museo-escolar-de-la-memoria-recuerdos-de-mi-wayco (last visit: 18 July 2019). The museum also has a Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Education-Website/Museo-Escolar-de-la-Memoria-Recuerdos-de-mi-Wayco-260418271438510/ (last visit: 18 July 2019).
- 9.
See official data about the 2018 elections on the website of the Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil at: http://elecciones1.registraduria.gov.co/esc_pre_2v_2018/ (last visit: 26 June 2019).
- 10.
Importantly, in April 2018 the police detained various leaders from Samaniego accusing them of being part of the ELN guerrillas. They were soon released for lack, and manipulation, of evidence. According to various interviewees, this event revealed how the Colombian state stigmatized people from the locality and dissuaded some leaders from making proposals to the government-ELN negotiating table (e.g., interviews S107, S109 February 2019; Diario del Sur 2018c, 2018f).
- 11.
For more on the social reintegration of former combatants in Samaniego, see Mouly et al. (2019).
- 12.
In August 2019, a group of former FARC top-level commanders announced their decision to take up arms again, owing to the failure of the government to implement the peace agreement. This included alias Romaña, who was in charge of the demobilization of the FARC front which operated in Samaniego before the demobilization of the group (BBC News Mundo 2019).
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Mouly, C., Bustos, K. (2022). Samaniego After the 2016 Peace Agreement: Between Hope and Fear. In: Allen, S.H., Hancock, L.E., Mitchell, C., Mouly, C. (eds) Confronting Peace. Rethinking Political Violence. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67288-1_5
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