In Chapter 3 we examined global inequality; its many forms, and the ways that social scientists measure that inequality. We also examined how globalization, the growing interdependence of the world’s economies, cultures, and populations impacts inequality. The conflict in Colombia was one case study as we made connections between the country’s conflict and longstanding, profound internal disparities. Let’s examine Colombia some more to understand how global inequality can take shape over time.

We learned that despite the peace accords and efforts to bring security and stability to the country, leaders in Colombia’s environmental movement are being killed at an unprecedented rate. In 2020 sixty-five environmental leaders were killed, the most recorded worldwide that year (Kryt 2021).

Armed groups still exist in Colombia that earn a living collaborating with extraction and large crop companies. Often they operate in remote regions, including the Colombian Amazon. The armed groups are hired to guard projects or make conditions too threatening for local people to remain in the region defending the land that supports them or the health of its ecosystems. Members of the corporations and armed actors both partner with politicians who receive kickbacks for their support of the project (Kryt 2021).

At least 424,243 acres of forest were cleared in Colombia in 2020, and clearing is on the rise. It’s also been documented that this increase in illegal deforestation is in part due to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia’s (FARC’s) departure from many remote regions after the peace accords, which leaves large swaths of territory vulnerable. There’s been a 38% increase in illegal deforestation since the peace deal was signed (Noriega 2022).

Listen to this 5:29-minute Podcast, “In the Colombian Amazon, peace has environmental consequences” that tells the story in more detail (Figure 4.1).

Figure set 4.1. Image of man in boat on Amazon river and Podcast, “In the Colombian Amazon, peace has environmental consequences”

Beyond Colombia, threats against land and environmental defenders is a global concern. In 2020 an average of more than four defenders were killed worldwide (Kryt 2021). Examining Colombia’s current state as a snapshot, how can we best examine the social systems that have allowed for land grabs and multinational corporation control that have in part fueled the Colombian conflict? How can we best examine the social systems that continue to allow for illegal destruction of the Amazon, and the accompanying human rights abuses of eco-activists?

4.1.1 Colombia’s Colonial Roots

A crucial place to begin is by looking into Colombia’s history to see that land has been acquired, and ownership concentrated through violent means for centuries. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Colombia was a colony of Spain, which involved the exploitation and removal of the indigenous and peasant populations to remote regions of the country (Gillin 2015). Authors Gonzales and Vasquez add that people were removed “…to peripheral areas of the country,’ areas of the country from which much of the insurgency has its roots.” (in Gillin 2015).

Then, after independence from Spain, Colombia was immediately controlled by export companies extracting resources (Fajardo 2014 in Zeyen 2015). To many scholars, this distribution of land and control over territories became the model of power relations in Colombian society. Today as we notice this global spike in violence it’s evident that climate breakdown and social justice are connected (Kryt 2021).

4.1.2 Colombia’s Resources and International Aid

Another situation to consider when examining Colombia’s conflict and inequality is the fact that for decades, Colombia has been the recipient of significant military and international aid. Millions of dollars of humanitarian aid and significant human action has been delivered to Colombia from supporting nations. Many of these contributions have helped Colombia find its way to peace, reduce inequality, and improve wellbeing in the country. However, other aid projects are more controversial.

One very influential aid initiative was Plan Colombia, an agreement that lasted between 2000 and 2015 and delivered $10 billion to the Colombian government to end the armed conflict and drug trafficking in the country. This prompted Colombia to become the leading recipient of US military and police assistance in the world. The programs and funds were distributed in great part via the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID is an agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. Funds were allotted to increase funding and training of Colombian military and paramilitary forces and to eradicate coca cultivation, a major source of funding for both the FARC and paramilitary groups.

However, the effects of Plan Colombia are very controversial. Critics of Plan Colombia argue that the main intent of the program was not drug eradication and an end to armed conflict, but an elimination of the left wing FARC insurgency that was hindering the exploitation of Colombia’s valuable resources, including oil. They claim that the campaigns that Plan Colombia supported also targeted poor farmers and rural Colombian activists calling for social reform (Stokes 2005 and Cuellar 2005). Numerous nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) cite human rights violations linked to war campaigns that Plan Colombia supported. Professor Noam Chomsky outlined these concerns in 2000 in his book, Rogue States; The Rule of Force in World Affairs:

Each year, some 300,000 new refugees are driven from their homes, with a death toll of about 3,000 and many horrible massacres. The great majority of atrocities are attributed to paramilitary forces. These are closely linked to the military, as documented…by Human Rights Watch, and …a UN study which reported that the Colombian security forces that are to be greatly strengthened by the Colombia Plan maintain an intimate relationship with death squads, organize paramilitary forces, and either participate in their massacres directly or, by failing to take action, have “undoubtedly enabled the paramilitary groups to achieve their exterminating objectives.” (Chomsky 2000: 82).

Alongside colonization, Colombia’s involvement in the globalized trade, financial, and military system has led to a mixed experience with equality and the health of its environment. While Colombia is a sound example of the challenges of these systems to society and human wellbeing, similar issues repeat throughout the globe.

In this chapter, we’ll take a deeper look at the roots of global inequality. We’ll first identify the colonized perspective that has created inequities between nations and among groups of people within nations. With the role of colonization in focus, we’ll then examine two related social changes that impact global inequality: the globalization of the trade and financial sector, and the international aid and development movement.

Finally, we’ll explore movements, and emerging possibilities that exist to address our global inequality issues. Here we’ll also take a close look at the global environmental crisis and how the environmental justice movement is creating possibilities for both environmental restoration and better protections of human rights.

We’ll answer the questions:

• What ideologies and systems have led to patterns of inequality in the world?
• How has humanitarian aid and development instilled positive impacts as well as increased global inequality?
• What new perspectives and movements exist for addressing global inequality?