Magdalena Medio

Magdalena Medio

The Magdalena Medio region is located in the northeast of Colombia and contains 27 municipalities. Even though it is not formally an administrative region, it is defined by the proximity of these municipios to the middle portion of the Magdalena River. It has municipalities within the departments of Bolivar, Cesar, Santander and Antioquia. Its area covers 30,000 square kilometers and by 2006 it had approximately 800,000 inhabitants.  The Magdalena Medio region is rich in natural resources, including gold, emeralds, tropical woods and substantial oil deposits. The country’s main refinery—managed by the state company ECOPETRO -  is located in the city of Barrancabermeja, which is also the largest urban center and river port in the region.

The region has a very high level of income generation—Barrancabermeja alone has a yearly budget of 125 billion pesos (roughly 57 million $US). However, the level of poverty and inequality is very high and by the early 21^st Century the number of people in the region living in poverty had risen to 70 percent (as compared to 45 percent in the rest of Colombia). Historically, there has been a high concentration of land and capital in a few hands and this is considered to be the main reason for the region’s social unrest and armed conflict. At the beginning of the 20^th Century the region was considered a frontier territory to be colonized by adventurous Colombians and it later became a safe haven for persecuted Liberal leaders during La Violencia in the 1950s. However, the region has never had a strong state presence, with almost no social programs or basic services.

Because of the almost total absence of the state and the clear understanding of their risky situation, the campesinos of the region have a long history of strong social mobilization. Peasants have demanded decent living conditions and access to land (traditionally controlled by large landowners) while oil industry workers have organized and demanded better pay, services and—most importantly—the right to safety and security.

In 1995 a development labeled the “Regional Process for Peace” began in Magdalena Medio. At the time, the region was suffering from high levels of civil unrest and violence, prompting the formation of an informal group by members of the Catholic Church, ECOPETROL, the worker’s union (USO), and the Center for Popular Education (CINEP) among others, in order to start thinking about what they could do as a region to make peace—and with whom they should make it. The underlying question for this group was: “How to plow the fields with oil?”  - or how to use the profits and advantages of local oil industry to benefit local peasants and farmers?

During several meetings the group worked around two main questions: “Why does such a resource-rich region have so much poverty and why is there so much violence in a society with such a deep love of life and rich cultural diversity ?” In order to address these questions, the group concluded that it would be necessary to ascertain the reality of living conditions in the region, leading to a first-stage research process labeled “diagnosis.” This was carried out in 1996 by the group and was based on the two paradoxes outlined above. The process was carried out in open spaces, collecting everyone’s ideas and opinions. Through these workshops, people believed to be ‘natural enemies’ because they occupied opposite ends of the ideological spectrum sat down and started talking, and sharing.

After the diagnosis, there followed a second phase, called “the beginning” which took place from 1996 through 1998. During this phase the group promoted the creation of a nucleus of inhabitants (nucleos de pobladores) throughout the territory. The basic work that took place at that time was teaching people a participatory action methodology and promoting ways for people to identify their own solutions to the problems that they faced. On the administrative side, the regional process was formalized, with an official program being founded, given a legal identity and developing an organizational structure. Since its inception the Jesuit priest, Fr. Francisco de Roux, has directed the “Program for Development and Peace of the Magdalena Medio (or PDPMM). Their work is based on the three principles mentioned above: 1) Respect for life and dignity; 2) Equality and solidarity, and; 3) Participative democracy.

In 1998 the World Bank approved a loan to the Program, thanks to a new initiative called the “Learning Innovation Loan (LIL).” The money given by the Bank provided the means to carry out proposals developed by individuals and communities during the ‘beginning’ stage. While this process took place, the PDPMM saw the need to establish initiatives to address inequality through sustainable economic and infrastructure projects and began to actively seek external funding. They found support from the Government of Japan, which helped to fund infrastructure projects, and facilitated encounters between officials of the EU and the PDPMM’s director (DNP and PDPMM 2005). After an evaluation process, the World Bank approved a second loan (LIL II) to support already established projects and the PDPMM also obtained further EU funding for a “Laboratory of Peace” program. During the last 20 years, PDPMM has become increasingly credible in the region. It is a trusted organization and has played a major role in the development of the Laboratory of Peace for the region,

In addition to the region wide organization of PPDMM, the Magdalena Medio saw the development of a large number of ”peace communities” and “Zones of Peace” in the period 1996 to 2002, starting with the pioneering community of La India as early as 19 and including such communiies as Mogotes, Floridablanca and Sucre. More recently, 8 municipios have joined together to create a zone of peace constituting a “Humanitarian Space”. These communities exist in territories located in the outermost rural areas where they have been victimized and attacked by all the legal and illegal armed actors. The first Humanitarian Space was Micoahumando, then followed by Tiquisio, Landazuri and Bajo Peñon. As the villagers from these areas are prisoners in their own territories (stranded by armed actors and having to endure food and general access blockades), the initiative was established in order to make them visible so that their community is recognized and they are seen as human beings. The idea was also to prevent displacement by helping people to live in dignity and not by being blocked in.

Even under President Uribe’s strategy of “Domestic Security”, [2002-2010] Medio Magdalena remains one of the most violent and unstable regions of Colombia, where “disarmament” of paramilitary forces such as the AUC remains something of a sham, and peace and stability are still elusive goals, in spite of the best efforts of local individuals and organizations.