Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - Essay Example It has gained popularity and support from different quotas who believe that the movement has positioned itself ideologically and consistently hence the need for its political recognition. The current membership of FARC is approximately 18,000 members, 30% of the recruits being under the age of eighteen years and surprisingly, the leadership structure is composed of 49% women. This paper will therefore discuss the political and social effects that have so far resulted from the actions of FARC. The social effects are the drug trafficking, displacements, rape, terrorism, hostages, kidnappings, lack of freedom of the press and other issues. It will also look into the political implications the movement has caused Colombia since its inception. It will finally, provide a different point of view of analysts who believe that the movement is necessary to stem out errant political leaders such the Uribe regime and the former and current presidents in Colombia who are so self centered that they have e economically downgraded the country's economy. Between the years of 1930s and 1950s, hundreds of rural based Colombians driven by their communist ideology began organizing themselves into formidable structures of security and cooperation with the aim of responding to the capitalistic expansion of the ruling interests1. They believed that the state had isolated them and therefore they needed to group all the poor members of the society (small land holders, semi-proletarians, rural workers and peasants) and champion for their rights. The group wanted to establish a corrupt free society, stable and based on local control mechanisms. These localized groups continued to expand their bases and by early 1960s, they had over sixteen groups of communities from all areas of southern and central Colombian republic. These communities were very peaceful to the central government, but to some extent, they were considered a threat to national security especially to the ruling class, land owners, the U.S geopolitical interest and the rising urban capitalists. During the Kennedy administration, the central government through its military targeted regions with strong offensive communities After its founding in the mid 1960s, the insurgency expanded in almost all parts of the country especially during the neo-liberal period when economic policies accompanied by increased repression by the state were practiced. FARC has increased its social, paramilitary and economic presence in Colombia sine that time. In fact, by 1999, the insurgent had almost conquered all the regions of the country. A few years later, reports indicated that they had occupied more than 93% of all the Colombian regions. Within the four decades since the inception of the political movement, FARC ha transformed itself from being a mere peasant-landless struggle to a complex national social force that had threatened even the United States. Currently, the movement has increased its membership base to include; intellectuals, the displaced, Afro-Colombians, unionists, urban workforce and almost all the indigenous population. With an extensive