THE FARC-EP’S RELATION TO SOCIAL CHANGE
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gave priority to the promotion of Accíon Comunal in those regions in which the peasant movement had been stronger and more radical: The number of Accíon Comunal committees doubled between 1966 and 1979 throughout the country” (Zamosc, 1986: 195). For decades the state sought to restrict the FARC-EP by periodically offering charity (Gomez, 1972: 251). When peaceful methods proved unsuccessful in procuring hegemony, the state “turned to threats and repression. The consequence was the continued failure of rural opposition movements and a growing perception, especially among the landless peasants, that the only alternative was to join the guerrilla” (Collier and Collier, 2002: 685; see also Lemus, Stanton and Walsh, 2005: 102; Marsh, 1983; 204–5). Despite the efforts made by the government to win over the people in these peripheral zones, the latter are continuing to give strong support to their fellow peasants in the guerrilla units. The correct policy pursued [by] the revolutionary movement has borne fruit. (Gomez, 1972: 253) Rather than abandoning the gains achieved through JACs many ideologically joined the FARC-EP and sustained the very structures once created to pacify them (see Richani, 2002a: 80). As clientelism and repression increased, the state and JACs collided over issues of rural politics and development. The 1980s and 1990s saw altercations become common as select JACs allied with the guerrillas in class struggle against the state (Collier and Collier, 2002: 687; Marsh, 1983: 205). When the government’s and peasants’ interests diverged, the government tended to rein in the newly created groups. However, by constraining these organizations, the government created new groups of angry, cynical peasants who were, as a consequence, more likely to support the very guerrilla groups that these organizations were originally intended to combat. (Collier and Collier, 2002: 687) Historically, JACs were “successful in limiting the impact of the left insurgent movements, even though they could not end the conditions that gave rise to Table 7.1 Growth of state-supported Juntas Accíon de Comunal (JACs) since 1958 Time period 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
Number of JACs 9,000 8,000 32,000 45,600
Sources: Palacios, 2006: 185; Safford and Palacios, 2003: 327; Pearce, 1990a: 149; Bagley and Edel,1980: 263; INCORA, 1971. In 1966 roughly 4,500 JACs were functional (Bagley and Edel, 1980: 263). By 1974 allegiances between many JACs and the elite declined (see Henderson, 1985: 232).
