Why Did FARC Start?

FARC is an acronym for the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia. It is sometimes referred to as FARC-EP, which is the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia– Ejército del Pueblo. In English, it is the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army.

One reason that Jacobo Arenas started FARC in the mid 1960s was to overthrow General Roja’s group and replace the government with a Communist one. Another reason is that they had causes to fight for, one of them being against the abusive control of the current government in Colombia.

FARC is based in Colombia, and has been trying to take over for over 40 years. It grew out of the Colombian Communist Party, has around 18,000 members, and is Colombia’s largest guerrilla rebel group and the best equipped one.

FARC finances its operations, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth a year, mostly through dealing in illegal drugs, but also makes money from extortion, kidnapping, hijacking, and selling “protection.”

Philosophy of FARC

FARC was founded as a Communist organization, which brought together militants and peasant groups. It operates in about half of Colombia, and was added to the US State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations.

They are dedicated to Marxist philosophy, and received funding from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Members say that FARC represents the poor against the wealthy and are against the privatization of natural resources and large, international companies. 

Of course, they also oppose a United States presence there, especially the recent effort by the United States to help stem the flow of cocaine. Ninety percent of the cocaine in the US comes from Colombia.  

FARC Involvement Today

Today, they work to gain more control over more territory in Colombia. Also, many battles are fought today not for ideologies, but for control of the drug trade.

Other than the drug trafficking, FARC is involved in kidnapping, extortion, and hi-jacking. They also attack military and political installations. They have not been successful in overthrowing the government, and today do more to just destabilize it.

Colombian Politics and Society Today

Colombia is the world’s leading supplier of cocaine and is overrun with violence and poverty. Colombia is segregated, with wealthy families and poor ones. The rich are mostly Spanish descent, and the poor have a mixed heritage. There are two left-wing groups; FARC and the ELN, the National Liberation Army. 

There are right-wing groups, formed by land owners for protection against rebel groups. Some of all of these groups are involved with the drug trade.

The violence in Colombia can be placed into two groups;

• Right-wing groups are blamed for massacres, torture, disappearances, and forcing people to leave their land.
• Left-wing groups are responsible for hijacking, kidnapping, assassinations, and extortion.

All attempts at peace have failed. When a group wants to control the government, peace negotiations are bound to fail. President Uribe has a tough security policy which has gained him much favor among the people of Colombia. They are tired of the ongoing conflict and the disruption it causes to their way of life. 

It is difficult to even imagine peace with so many warring factions with such extreme attitudes and goals such as:

• Political considerations
• Control of the illegal drug trade
• Territorial disputes

Local governments need to be strengthened and people empowered and they cannot do this alone. They need international support to build a peaceful culture from the individual level up, a task that would take years but would be worth it.

FARC continues to wage war against what they believe to be a corrupt government, but they finance their action with the illegal drug trade.