Resistance to political violence and defense of community territoriality in the Department of Cauca, Colombia (1971-2012))

Abstract

This paper explains the transformations of indigenous resistance to political violence. This resistance was led by the Consejo Regional Indígena del Cauca –CRIC- (Indigenous Regional Council of Cauca) since its founda- tion in 1971 until the beginning of the last peace talks in 2012. To this end, a socio-historical approach of medi- um duration was tried, which is based on the analysis of a set of statistical indicators. The article states that the struggle of the indigenous communities of the CRIC expresses a conflict among different territorialities in conflict embodying diverse projects of social order. Also, it is affirmed that the transformations of indigenous resistance are explained by the confluence of three socio-historical variables: the state policies on distribution and use of land, the historical development of the armed conflict, and the ways of imagining the nation and the state policies of diversity management that are associated with them.