So far I have only been describing the beautiful sides of Ecuador and Colombia. I think it is important to also mention at least a little of the other sides. To understand it better, some history:
In Colombia there is a lot of poverty. During the 1960s, the Colombian government effected a policy of Accelerated Economic Development (AED), the agribusiness plan of Lauchlin Currie, a Canadian-born U.S.economist who owned ranching land in Colombia. The plan promoted industrial farming that would produce great yields of agricultural and animal products for world-wide exportation, while the Colombian government would provide subsidies to large-scale private farms. The AED policy came at the expense of the small-scale family farms that only yielded food supplies for local consumption. Based on a legalistic interpretation of what constituted "efficient use" of the land, thousands of peasants were forcefully evicted from their farms and migrated to the cities, where they became part of the industrial labor pool. In 1961, the dispossession of farmland had produced 40,000 landless families and by 1969 their numbers amounted to 400,000 throughout Colombia. By 1970, the latifundio type of industrial farm (more than 50 hectares in area) occupied more than 77 per cent of arable land in the country.The AED policy increased the concentration of land ownership among cattle ranchers and urban industrialists, whose businesses expanded their profits as a result of reductions in the cost of labor wages after the influx of thousands of displaced peasants into the cities. During this period, most rural workers lacked basic medical care and malnutrition was almost universal, which increased the rates of preventable disease and infant mortality.
The Colombian Comunist Party, the PCC, began establishing "peasant leagues" in rural areas and "popular fronts" in urban areas, calling for improved living and working conditions, education, and rights for the working class. These groups began networking together to present a defensive front against the state-supported violence of large landholder. Members organized strikes, protests, seizures of land, and organized communist-controlled "self-defense communities" in southern Colombia that were able to resist state military forces, while providing for the subsistence needs of the populace. Many of the PCC's attempts at organizing peasants were met with violent repression by the Colombian government and the landowning class. U.S. military intelligence estimated that in 1962, the size of the PCC had grown to 8,000 to 10,000 active members, and an additional 28,000 supporters.
In 1961, a guerrilla leader and long-time PCC organizer named Manuek Marulanda Velez declared an independent "Republic of Marquetalia". The Lleras government attempted unsuccessfully to attack the communities to drive out the guerrillas
The Colombian government began attacking many of the communist groups in the early 1960s, attempting to re-assimilate the territories under the control of the national government. FARC was formed in 1964 by Velez and other PCC members, after a military attack on the community of Marquetalia. 16,000 Colombian troops attacked the community, which only had 48 armed fighters. Marulanda and 47 others fought against government forces at Marquetalia, and then escaped into the mountains along with the other fighters. These 48 men formed the core of FARC, which later grew in size to hundreds of fighters.
FARC had historically been doing most of its fighting in rural areas, and was limited to small-scale confrontations with Colombian military forces. By 1982, increased income from the "coca boom" allowed them to expand into an irregular army, which would then stage large-scale attacks on Colombian troops.
In the early 1980s, President Betancur began discussing the possibility of peace talks with the guerrillas. Ultimately this resulted in the 1984 La Uribe Agreement, which called for acease fire, which ended up lasting from 1984 to 1987.
In 1985, members of the FARC-EP, along with a large number of other leftist and communist groups, formed a political party known as the Union Patriotica ("Patriotic Union", UP). The UP sought political reforms (known as Apertura Democratica) such as constitutional reform, more democratic local elections, political decentralization, and ending the domination of Colombian politics by the Liberal and Conservative parties. They also pursued socioeconomic reforms such land redistribution, greater health and education spending, th nationalization of foreign businesses, Colombian banks, and transportation, and greater public access to mass media. While many members of the UP were involved with the FARC-EP, the large majority of them were not and came from a wide variety of backgrounds such as labor unions and socialist parties such as the PCC. In the cities, the FARC-EP began integrating itself with the UP and forming Juntas Patrióticas (or "solidarity cells") – small groups of people associated with labor unions, student activist groups, and peasant leagues, who traveled into the barrios discussing social problems, building support for the UP, and determining the sociopolitical stance of the urban peasantry
The UP performed better in elections than any other leftist party in Colombia's history. In 1986, UP candidates won 350 local council seats, 23 deputy positions in departmental assemblies, 9 seats in the House, and 6 seats in the Senate. The 1986 Presidential candidate, Jaime Pardo Leal, won 4.6% of the national vote.
Since 1986, thousands of members of the UP and other leftist parties were murdered (estimates range from 4,000 to 6,000). In 1987, the President of the UP, Jaime Pardo, was murdered. In 1989 a single large landholder had over 400 UP members murdered. Over 70% of all Colombian presidential candidates in 1990—and 100% of those from center-left parties—were assassinated.
FARC has rceived most of its funding, estimated to average some $300 million per year—from taxation of the illegal drug trade and other activities, ransom kidnappings, bank robberies, and extortion of large landholders, multinational corporations, and agribusiness. These funds are partly used to fund military operations and partly to keep the peace between peasants and traffickers, forcing the later to pay a livable wage, keeping crime at bay and sustaining social services where the government is absent
I met a Colombian man merried to an English woman, who has been living in England for many years. He told me his cousin had been kidnapped when guerrilla troops came into their claassroom in the university in Bogota and kidnapped 15 students . She was returned to her family after 2 years after they paid a huge amount of money. Another cousin of his was held hostage for 2 years. I can sympathize with their aims but certainly not with their methods. Though after what the Colombian government did to the small farmers and to thousands of UP members, their despair is understandable. But as in all guerilla or anti government movements that originate to fight againsst injustice of the elites there arer also many criminals who don't hesitate to murder, commit sexual abuse etc.
I will not tell you all the details of the conflict which has been going on for so many years and the many attempts at a solution. Only the last developments.
On 27 May 2013, it was announced that one of the most contentious issues had been resolved. Land reform and compensation was tackled with promises to compensate those who had lost land.This is the first time the government and FARC have reached an agreement on a substantive issue in four different negotiating attempts over 30 years. The peace process then moved on to the issue of "political participation", during which FARC insisted on its demand for an elected Constituent Assembly to rewrite Colombia's constitution. This demand has been forcefully rejected by Colombia's lead government negotiator, Humberto de la Calle. On 6 November 2013 the Colombian government and FARC announced that they had come to an agreement regarding the participation of political opposition and would begin discussing their next issue, the illicit drug trade. On May 16, 2014, the Colombian government and the FARC rebels agreed to work together against drug trafficking, added to the development of these peace talks.
Colombia has become much safer since, but there is still ongoing guerrilla activity, mainly in rural areas and there are still roads which are not recommended to travel. I am just trying to find out which.
another sad aspect of this paradise is the position of women . For ex. in the indigenous culture Wayuu (probably in others too). As soon as a girl beginns to menstruate she is married. Only boys are sent to school.
Colombia has strong laws in favour of women's rights, Yet in practice, Colombian women still suffer from regular forms of violence, exploitation and social marginalization.
In Cuenca, in Ecuador, I visited a house established by women to help women and I got there the following Information: 7 out of 10 women in Cuenca experience violence from men! From murder to physical violence, rape and psychological violence as humiliation, threatening etc.
Inspite of all the improvement for women , South America is still a very machist society.
This is just to name a few of the other sides of this (could be) paradise.
