Post on 30-Apr-2020
Land Tenure
The development of Colombia’s political economy — a historical analysis
PRE-COLUMBIAN ENCOMIENDAS REPARIMIENTO HACIENDAS PRE-INDEPENDENCE POST-INDEPENDENCE LA VIOLENCIA NATIONAL FRONT POST-NATIONAL FRONT NEOLIBERALIZATIONLIBERAL REVOLUTIONPRE-COLUMBIAN
Economy
Exchange
Politics
Indigenous Tribes –Muisca, Quimbaya, Tairona, Carib
Spanish Crown controls the land- Grants trusteeship to the conquistadors/encomenderos- Encomenderos controll groups of indigenous populations in ‘reducciones’
Spanish Crown controls the land- Land still owned by the Spanish Crown but now had direct control over the allotment of natives in the reguardos
Santa MartaCaracaas
BogotáBogotá
Cartagena
Muisca
Settlement inAndean Region
Mining: gold, copper, coal, emerads, salt
Barter exchange among the various tribes
1499 1525/15331512
Agriculture: sustenenceTextiles
1542 1600s 1717 1781 1789 1810-18121808
Conquest of New Granada
Mining - “Tribute” to the economenderos/Crown by the indigenous tribes in gold mostly
Mining dwindling, Agriculture -- Inter-colonial trade was not permitted directly so most agriculture was for sustenance only or sent to Europe- not plantation style as in Mexico because the geography was deemed to be too harsh for transport
Agriculture- Tobacco monopoly relaxed- Co�ee exports
Mining and Agriculture
Forced labor and gold by indigenous population in exchange for lessons in Spanish and Catholicism by the encomenderos
A given percentage of the indigenous population is alloted to the reguardos, the make up of this percentage was meant to be rotated and a tax system was implemented to replace the tribute system of the encomiendas.
Encomiendas were exploited from the start and many, including members of the clergy and the Spanish Crown disliked the way the conquistedors handled the native lands as they were supposed to be jointly owned.
First European contactwith the indigenous tribes
At Santa Marta (1525) and Cartagena (1533),Spanish control of the Colombian coast was firmly established, and in the next few years the northern hinterland was explored.
Law of Burgos (1512)Spanish control of the Colombian coast was firmly established, and in the next few years the northern hinterland was explored.
The New Laws (1542)Regulations imposed by the Spanish Crown intended to reformthe encomienda system and eventually led to its replacementby reparimeinto
Viceroyalty of New Granada (1717)The audencias comprised of modern day Colombia, Ecuador, Panama,
and Venezuela separate from the Viceroyalty of Peru
American Revolution (1776) & French Revolution (1789)Changed prevailing attitudes toward democracy, freedom
and ownership in New Granada
Napoleon invades Spain (1808)Spanish Crown is overthrown, replaced byjuntas loyal to the Crown.
Secession of Venezuela and Ecuador (1830) The result of growing tensions between federalistsand centralists in Bogóta
Secession of Panama (1903)U.S. influence encourages secession of
Panama so they can control the constructionand openeration of the Panama Canal
“Follow the North Star” (1920s)President Suarez linked Colomobia’sforeign policy with the U.S. re-establishingeconomic ties through trade and democracy
Constitutional Amendment (1936)- Grants government authority overprivate companies/property- Grants labor rights, agrarian reform- Government controls education
Election of Mariano Ospina Pérez (1946)- Conservative party returns to power- Encouragement of conservative peasantsto seize agricultural lands from liberals- Attempts to undo liberal reforms from 1930-1945
New laws encourages largelandholders to subdivide to
promote productivity
I821 constitution guarantees right to
property for all ‘citizens’
Co�ee (1848)Exports begin
Banana Massacre (1928)United Fruit Company laborers strikeMilitary intervenes due to the threat of U.S. invasion to protect company interests
Assassination of Jorge Gaitán (1948)Popular Liberal party presidential candidates sparks civil war between Liberal/Communist guerillas and Conservative military forces
Coup d’état (1953)Gustavo Rojas Pinilla comes to powerin the country’s first and only military dictatorship
Law 135 (1961)Social and Agrarian reformsreceive backlash from conservative landowners
PistolocosYoung gang members targetuncooperative o�cials
National Front system gradually phased out by 1974
“Formal appearance” ofcocaine productionFall in co�ee prices sparks
a “peoples” coup d’état
FARC (1964)Guerilla militant group of rural peasants push for end to agrarian reform. Primary opposition to the government during the Colombian armed conflict
“Formalization” of Cocaine ProductionCartel leaders meet to e�ciencize theproduction and distribution of cocaine.
Death of Escobar (1993)Leads to decline in cartelactivity
Partial Plans2004 Plan to formalize the
informal parts of the city
Law 388 of 1997Paves the way for the liberalization ofdevelopment policy
Military junta takes over after ousting of Pinillaagreenment between liberals and conservativesto share power beginning in 1958 marking end of La Violencia
National Front policyThe government of the liberal president Jorge Turvay Ayala imposedstate of siege legislation of power granted under the terms of the National Front established between liberals and conservatives in 1958giving the military and intelligence services blanket authority to represstrade union, human rights, civic, peasant, student, indigenous and community leaders
“In a similar vein, Medellin's wealthier inhabitants invoked tropes of invasion and contamination to describe their sense of being besieged by a ring of slum dwellers who increasingly transgressed the ideological and physical space separating civilization from barbarism.” (Roldan, 173)U.S. influence on
Panama Uprising andBanana Massacre
Locations of Informal SettlementsSettlements formed on the steep slopes of thesurrounding hillsideSource: http://archleague.org/2013/03/connective-spaces-and-social-capital-in-medellin-by-je�-geisinger/
Shifting PopulationsEconomic Policies cause the beginning of a shiftin rural populations toward industrial city centers
Growth of the Co�ee TradeEach dot represents 10,000 sack of co�ee
Slavery abolished (1851)
Viceroyalty overthrown (1810)Constitution of Antioquia (1812)- Four principle rights: Liberty, Equity, Security, Property - for all citizens - Consitution viewed as pro-monarchy by those in Venezuela/Ecuador- Centralist vs. Federalist debate begins
By 1800, an estimated50% of the populationis Mestizo.
Comunero Uprising (1781)Mestizos and creoles joined forces in opposition
of Spanish control, however the creoles re-sided with the peninsulares when the mestizos tried to broaden
the movement to include social issues.
Dwindling indigenous population– Death due to lack of immunity to European diseases
– Tax system was based on class identity, which was primarily based on race (indigenous vs. european) and racial mixing (mestizos) blurred the class
boundaries making it di�cult to determine who had to pay the tribute tax.
Encomenderos are beginning to become the de facto land tenants
Both paid and slave labor - African slaves and poorer mestizos replaced the indigenous tribes due to their dwindling population
Market exchange - Sharecroppers, wage earners, slavery until 1851, - Taxation remained, exports bolstered economy
Developments in the class structure - Peninsulares (White Spanairds from Spain)- Creoles (White Spaniards born in America)
- Mestizos (Mixed indigenous and European descent)- Indigenous people- Slaves (Africans brought to the region as a result of the slave trade)
Spanish Crown is replaced by the Supreme Junta in Seville. Spanish possessions in America are allowed to send delegates, but attempts were made to form their own juntas in America.
Rising autonomony of the provinces,decentralization of authority
Haciendas: Large estates owned and managed by what were the encomenderos class - located all throughout Nueva Granada with the exception of the Antioquia area
Antioquia: Settled later due to terrain. Mines owned by an oligarchy of local merchants and the land-owning elite.
Haciendas: Developed first in Highland areas and spread westward
Viceroyalty of New Granada Gran Colombia
Repbulic of Colombia
Mining- Dwindling toward the end of the century
Manufacturing- Industrial centers include Medellín, Bogóta, Cali and Barranquilla
183018241821 1848 1851 1903 1920 1928 1936 1946 1948 1953 1957 1958 1961 1964 1974 1976 1980 1992/1993 1997 20041972
Land-owning Elite: Small amount of landowners continue to hold much of the country’s land
State-owned land: Much of it was distributed to companies ratherthan poor rural farmers who already occupied it
Strained relations with the U.S.during the Teddy Roosevelt administrationthe result of Panama uprising
Banana massacre sparked liberal reformsbeginning with the election of PresidentHerrera in 1930
Era marked by ongoing conflicts between the liberals/communists and the conservative parties. Strained relations with the U.S.
- Based on idea of progress when one party hold a minority; - Conservative party supported liberals for two election cycles and vice versa
Liberal reforms include the establishmentof the 8 hour workday among other benefits
La violencia had more to do with liberal/convservative dichotomy ratherthan class struggle social issues
Citizenship extended to all males over 21regardless of property ownership or literacy
La Violencia occurs mostl in rural peasant areas, claims over 200,000 livesSmall landholding minority continues to dominate
Market capitalism- Economy dominated by agricultural exports, government subsidies- Gold standard established for currency
Companies and large land-holders dominate the majority of landbecoming more subject to foreign trade interests
Agriculture- Dominant co�ee exports particularly in Antioquia- Fruit exports to US and Europe
Manufacturing- concetrated in industrial centers- Fabricato in Medellín
Nationalization of oil industry- led by strong labor union
Accelerated Economic Development (AED) - gives government subsidies to large-scale private farms at the expense of smaller family fun operations. - Increased land ownership of urban industrialists who ran large scale farms
- Peasants were forcifully evicted from their farms legally- Relocated to urban centers to become industrial workers- Labor unions repressed
- Population of Medellín triples as poor peasants relocate- Peasants mostly settle along the hillsides
Exports- Growth in the co�ee trade; Oil not yet an export- By the 1960’s 40%-60% of Colombia’s exports went to the U.S.
Cocaine- Changes in U.S. consumption/production of marijuana leads to a shift toward cocaine production
Growth of Underground Economy- Changes in U.S. consumption/production of marijuana leads to a shift toward cocaine production
Nationalization of oil industry
Period marked by economic struggle
1951
– Immigrations to the United States - Medellín sees a lot of economic growth, initially withoutnegative consquences so drug money was overlooked
- Cartel monopolization creates “new upper class” and leads to violence in the city- Development is reactionary rather than proactive
- Liberalization of Development Policy- “Rezoning” of rural land for development- New policies allow for greater builing denisty
- By 1992, the “underground economy”accounts for 8.7% of GDP of Colombia
- Formalization of land tenure in informalsettlements
- Formalization of informaleconomies/processes
- By 1992, gang/cartel violence is at aclimax in Medellín
- By 1992, cartels control 31.2 millionhectacres of rural farmland
-Continuting conflict between rural peasants and the government.
Cartel Farmland- Drug cartels aquire significant amounts of farmland for coca production
Antioquia
Medellín
Trends of Income InequalityMedellín become the epicenter of the cocaine trade area of high accumulation in the drug trade also exhibits a trend of increasing income inequality, while comparable cities exhibit a decline. (Roldan)
“Gentrification in Medellín” — Moravia case study- Although in many ways a liability, the form of land tenure has allowed for fast and easy transactions, on the spot, by cash, everything can be transacted, and uses and abuses of all sorts take place daily. - Location at the edge of the main centrality and development corridor of the city, at the bottom of a huge area of squatter settlement has been turning Moravia into a major retail destination for residents of that area. - Business activities are overflowing residential activities progressively moving from a predominately residential to a retail use. - The potential rent the municipality to the area as collective patrimony. (Betancur)
Quimbaya
Tairona
1913 1945
- 2004 plan began to bring the informal settlement and informal economy into the formalized system
Santa Marta
Barranquilla
Medellín
Bogotá
CaliBarranquilla
Medellín
Bogotá
Cali
Encomienda vs Reparimiento
Spanish Crown
Encomenderos
IndigenousPopulation
Spanish Crown
Encomenderos
IndigenousPopulation
Muisca Coca locations 2007Drug tra�cing corridors 2007
Multiple types of Armed Conflict 1997-2002At least one type of Armed Conflict 1997-2002