The illicit drugs market in the Colombian agrarian context

The distribution of land and its unjust use are the major causes of violence in Colombia. For this reason land issues are the starting point of current peace talks between the Santos government and the FARC guerrillas. Remedying these structural problems at the heart of rural Colombia is the best guarantee of progress of the current peace negotiations that could bring an end to a half-century-old violent conflict.

The illicit drugs market in Colombia has flourished in the traditional context of inequality, exclusion and poverty that have characterised the Colombia countryside. While serving as a refugee survival economy and safety net for many, the illicit market dynamic and the war on drugs against it have also increased these problems, stimulating conflict, violence, dispossession, displacement and social unrest.

This briefing presents some recommendations and policy proposals on alternative development.

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