Page 301 - Conflitti Militari e Popolazioni Civili - Tomo II

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aCta
early Sixties and tied to the political action of the first Communist Party’s cells in such a way
as to make it difficult to make the distinction between legal political action and armed activ-
ity. But the symbolic date that also constitutes the foundation myth of the insurgent organiza-
tion is 27th May 1964, when in the Marquetalia region the Army launched a violent offensive
against some communist enclaves, also called independent Republics, that had been present
in that zone for some years. Communist ideas and that sort of Resistencia (Resistance) to
the State aggression originated the powerful foundation myth which, till today, continues
to be the historical justification of the Farc’s existence , in spite of the deep changes that
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have occurred inside and outside Colombian society. According to Roman Ortiz’s theory, the
evolution of this group can be divided into three periods : 1) Formation phase, 1966-1980;
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2) Modernization and internationalization, phase 1980-1996; 3) New revolutionary model
phase, 1996-Present. This periodization underlined mainly the incredible ability of adapta-
tion that for a long time has been enabling the greatest insurgent group not only to survive but
also to grow and become stronger. During the first phase the organization took the first steps,
and its principal components were the landless peasants and the small landowners. Because
of the low cultural level the organization was not able to advance a valid political proposal of
Colombian State’s transformation. Besides, the predominant rural origins defined the group’s
ideological approach between Marxist’s principles and ideas of agrarian inspiration. During
the second phase in the early Eighties, the Farc experienced a crucial moment of strategic
transformation. They reached a greater level of their leaders’ political sophistication thanks
to the new activists’ arrival from the urban middle class. They achieved a large financial
autonomy through the ties with narcotrafficking, remarkably increasing their military ability.
As well as managing to initiate a process of internationalization, refining the capacities to
take advantage of the new international communication networks both in the illegal sphere
(drug and weapon trafficking and ties with an international net of revolutionary organiza-
tions ) and in the official political sphere through public statements and through negotia-
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tions with the various incumbent governments. Finally, the third phase is characterized by a
high-level of military ability, by a larger financial autonomy and by an increasing strategic
maturity in which the political logic was subordinated to the military one.
all the most important studies on this organization share such a periodization, pointing
out the strategic transformations the Farc put into practice. For instance, Pizarro considers
the year 1982, when the 7th Conference of the organization was held as a first turning point
in the military project . In fact during this conference the organization decided to add the
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34 Pizarro Leongómez E., “Las FARC-EP: repliegue estratégico, debilitamiento o punto de inflexiòn?” in Nes-
tra guerra sin nombre, Bogotà, Editorial Norma – IEPRI, 2006, pp. 171-207.
35 Ortiz Romàn D., “The Strategic Behavior of FARC: An Analysis in Historical Perspective”, in Germani S.
editor, Pathways out of terrorism and insurgency: the dynamics of terrorist violence and peace processes,
Kaarthikeyan D.R., 2005, pp. 311-319.
36 A recent article published by El Tiempo (10 May 2008) titled “Contactos con 400 grupos en por lo menos
siete países tienen las Farc para expandirse por América”, relate all the information about the network of
collaboration at an international level created by the Farc (with Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Costa Rica,
Brazil, Peru and also in USA) in order to obtain ideological support, to traffic in drug and weapons and to
launder dirty money.
37 Pizarro l. e., 2006.