Agrarian Counter-Reformation and Armed Conflict:Abandonment and Dispossession of Land in the Subregion ofMontes de María, 1996 – 2016

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between armed conflict and agrarian counter reform in the subregion of Montes de María, from 1996 to 2016. For this purpose, I analyze 204 land restitution sentences related to land located in Montes de María, as well as journalistic and judicial sources, and interviews with public officials and peasant leaders. I found a first cycle of strong land abandonment (1995 – 2005) followed by a second cycle of massive legal deprivation (2005 – 2013). The results show that, prior to these two cycles, 60% of abandoned and/or dispossessed properties had been awarded to peasants through agrarian reform, which would constitute a possible scenario of local counter reform.