Peru and Colombia: political violence and prospects of democracy

Abstract

The fragility of democracy in Peru and Colombia is intimately linked to the processes of political violence —and vice versa— experienced by both countries during the second half of the last century. This essay presents a historical review of the social and political transformations that unleashed two of the most violent episodes in Latin American history, emphasizing the role of peasant and urban movements, political organizations risen up in arms, armed forces and political parties. The political analysis of these processes is based on a critical reading on the heterogeneity of the Peruvian and Colombian societies, the impact of neoliberal structural reforms at the end of the Cold War, and the recovery of the role of the state in the establishment and implementation of institutional reforms that facilitate the resolution of conflicts in democracy.